A Reaper's Academia
by Daedalus77
Summary: Loss. Such a bitter thing that exists in any realm. Alas, loss is also a spark. It spurs actions, beliefs, feelings. It is the start of all advancements. It is what spurs humanity forward. But, when someone manages to control their losses and uses them as a tool to better themselves, the world shall see uncomparable prosperity. (Rated M: Gender-Bending, Polygamy, Lemons, Death.)
1. Prologue

Quirks, or more scientifically named, Quarks, appeared over two centuries ago. They started off being meaningless, maybe a child emitted a light glow, or maybe they grew a small horn atop their head. Either way, they evolved into one of the defining factors of ones being over the course of several years. But of course, there were those who used this power for their own gain, turning to crime to make a living. And thus, the Heroics Department was born, where people who gained the title of Pro Hero, used their quirks to fight against evil. Scientist gained the ability to study the genetic material of Quarked persons and decided that it was just a random mutation that led to the creation of Quarks.

Or at least, that was what they thought.

Isshin Kurosaki knew better. These quote on quote 'random' mutations hadn't been random at all. They had been created due to the mass amounts of Reishi that had and still fill the air of the world of the living. And, how they got there, he knew as well.

Two centuries ago, the mad man Sousuke Aizen challenged the beliefs of the heaven know as the Soul Society, and stole the object known as the Hogyoku to battle the Society. He succeeded, but the death of the Soul Reapers as they had been called, caused the one and only Soul King to be roused from his spot in his own dimension.

Aizen fought to destroy the Soul King, but ultimately was killed by the strength of the 'god.' The death of the Soul Reapers left a great imbalance in the world that the Soul King had to fix, and by sacrificing himself, he destroyed the opposing realm of Hueco Mundo, and balance was restored.

The aftermath of the war left the few remaining Soul Reapers and the dwellers of Hueco Mundo, Hollows, to scatter, hiding among the humans and leading lives not unlike their previous ones. The nature of their existence led them to both sides of the spectrum, where Soul Reapers took the role of hero, and Hollows joined the side of villains.

How this plays into Quarks, well, I was getting to that.

The destruction of the powerful beings of the soul realm led to the abundance of Reishi in the World of the Living, which it turn caused Quarks to appear. While he, Isshin, would like to take credit for this discovery, it was the scientist who made the destructive Hogyoku who came to this conclusion. Kisuke Urahara.

And that, leads us into the start of this journey, the overthrowing of the Dark Tyrant, All for One.

* * *

(-)

* * *

"Ichigo."

The orange haired eight year old didn't reply. He only continued to stare out towards the river as raindrops continued to beat down around them. "You can't blame yourself for what happened."

...

...

...

Still no reply.

Isshin sat down next to him, crossing his legs as he did. "You know, your mother hated the rain. Refused to go out into it, no matter what." He explained to his son. "That was, until you three were born. Once you rascals were out and about, it seemed like nothing fazed her. Though, I knew better than that. She still hated the rain, but for you, I think she would've let if pour for the rest of her life."

Ichigo still hadn't moved from his spot, though it was clear that tears had started to roll down his cheeks. "Your mother was a wonderful woman, though you already know that. She loved you so much, so how do you think she would feel to see you out here. She would think it was her fault, and it would hurt her." Isshin continued, and his reluctant guilt-tripping worked.

"I'm sorry dad!" The boy nearly choked on his words, as he tackled his father in a bear hug. "I just miss her so much!" He cried into his fathers chest, gripping on as if for dear life.

"I know, son. I know." Isshin returned the hug as rain continued to pour, almost as if the world itself was weeping for the loss of an angel. As a few tears streaked down his own face, he made a promise.

All-for-One was going to pay for destroying his family, his stability.

And most importantly, for hurting his son.

* * *

(-)

* * *

Hey everyone! Just a little pre-prologue-prologue to get this thing out of the works. Is there a name for that? Anyway, I hope this gives a little basis on the story, and what to expect. I'm actually really happy with how this turned out, even though it's a little short. Working on the true prologue now. Oh yeah, also, beta thing is still open if you want to help me out. Otherwise, y'all have a nice day.

Latta!


	2. Chapter 1: Fall of a Pillar

The real prologue is here! I think that this chapter ended up being really fun to write.

Anyway, quick note.

A single line like this means a small transition between focuses.

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And a double line like this means either a larger transition/time-skip, or if specified, a several year time-skip. Though, only two of those should appear throughout the series.

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Now, review time!

Shen : 1st off, I'm really glad you're hyped for this, Because I am to. 2nd: Don't demean yourself about your understanding of writing. I didn't notice those things till he pointed it out either, so you really aren't at fault. Lastly, thanks for pointing out the spelling errors in the first chapter. It was meant to be All-for-One, not One-for-All. Sorry about that.

Dracus6: Um, what now? If you are asking for me to write this crossover, I haven't watched either series. Sorry. Plus, I got a lot of other shit on my hands currently.

Guest: Well, I didn't mean to give off that Quirks were new. They've been around for the same amount of time as canon, maybe a bit longer actually. Anyway, All-for-One is going to be buff as hell. Need to compensate a little for the addition of soul reapers, so pretty much everyone's going to be stronger. And, the One-for-All users are going to be a little stronger as well.

KingJGamer: Yeah. I enjoyed that idea as well, and it will end up somewhere in the story. Just need to find out where.

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(-)

* * *

"Nana Shimura." The slimy voice of One-for-All bit at her ears. If she could get rid of anything in the world, it would be his mouth.

"How disappointing it is to see how utterly you have failed. And here I thought I would've had a chance to test out my newly acquired quirk." Great. That meant that there was another victim of this bastard that she wasn't able to save. "Ah well. It seems pointless to complain now."

'Shit. Here he comes again.' She rose off her knees, her right arm dangling uselessly at her side as she leaned backwards to maintain some semblance of balance as she prepared for his attack. The 'man,' if she could even call him that, had practically teleported in front of her, his arm preparing to cleave down onto her and end the fight then and there. She managed to staggeringly side-step the move, his hand burying deep into the ground, and it gave her an opportunity to strike back.

"Centurion Smash!" She yelled, a high-legged axe-kick finding its mark on the cheek of the masked villain. The kick, when it first impacted, seemed to be normal, as if the power of a normal, though athletic human had struck.

That's because it was.

Even though she put all her effort into the strike, and though she thought that One-for-All had still been burning bright, the kick held no additional power in it. "Oh? So you have found a successor I see. That's why your quirk didn't activate. The flames of One-for-All have extinguished from within you, passed onto the next in the line of pitiful heroes."

That had managed to piss her off. "You don't get to call him pitiful, you coward! That man is more heroic than anyone in the Heroic Department could hope to be!" She growled, gripping onto his shirt, practically facing death itself without fear. "And, I hope you fall asleep at night, knowing that he'll be the one to end your miserable tyranny!" She grinned maniacally in his face, even getting a reaction out of him as he stepped back.

"Nana Shimura, as much as I have enjoyed our time together, I think I shall end this feud." She could see him smirk, even underneath his mask. "I heard that there is going to be a newly orphaned Tenko Shimura that will need someone to care for him. Can't miss out on that."

And for the first time in his life, he saw fear pass through Nana's eyes. "Don't you dare touch him, you damn snake!" She yelled, charging at him in a final fit of rage.

He only smiled wildly. "Goodbye, Nana."

* * *

And the heaven's wept, as they had lost two of their divine angels in the matter of two weeks, both struck down by the devil's incarnate, and leaving two broken families in their wake.

All-for-One cheered throughout the night, both of his biggest oppositions taken down within the month, and leaving his tyrannical reign to spread without end. Though, what All-for-One hadn't known, was that the loss of these two incredibly loved women, created a bond between the broken man and woman who relied on them.

And it was going to be a key factor, to his long overdue downfall.

* * *

(-) Timeskip: 5 Years Time

* * *

"Ichigo! Come help your sister's with their homework!"

The now 14 year old protege of the Kurosaki family begrudgingly placed his pencil down after being summoned by his father. "Coming, Goat-Face!" He yelled, scooting his chair back under the desk before making his way to the living room, where his sisters sat down to do their homework. First, there was Karin, being the older sister by about 12 minutes. She had jet black hair, like their father, though she took more after her brother. She was blunt, but considerate when she needed to be, though she was also stubborn as a mule. Still being young, she barely came up to his waist, but at the same time, he was kind of tall, standing at a decent 6'1 at the age of 14.

Karin's quirk was very impractical in her planned field of study, as she wanted to be a doctor at the current moment, to which the physical bonuses of a soul reaper she had gained didn't help. She didn't have the spiritual aspect, or that's what Isshin had called it. Even without the other side, it made her damn good at soccer. He was sure that if she tried to go to college, she'd get some kind of sponsorship for it.

Then, there was Yuzu. Ichigo had called her the miniature version of their mother, which his father agreed on, and she had been the 'mother' of the family ever since. She had honey blonde hair that she kept tied behind her head in a small pony-tail, though she let her small bangs to continue to cross her forehead. She had done the impossible of being shorter than Karin, even though it was only by one inch, and she wasn't nearly as athletic either. Yuzu had dedicated the bulk of her time to learning how to cook, and cleaned when it needed to be done. That wasn't to say that Goat-Face didn't cook either, apparently 'not wanting to burden his poor, poor child' with such a task, but he still preferred Yuzu's cooking.

There was one problem, however. She was quirkless. No superpowers. Nothing. Once, she had come home from school crying to Ichigo that she had been bullied by some kids due to her quirkless status.

It would suffice to say that Ichigo was sequentially suspended for the next week, and he became very protective of his sister from that point on.

Before he crossed the living room, he squatted down onto his knees, his father flying over his head and somersaulting on the ground as he stood back up and moved to the table. "So, what's up." He asked, taking a seat next to his blonde sister. She explained to him what she was having trouble with, and, while the fourth-grade math was simple, he understood her dilemma.

So, he taught her his way of solving the problem, though he had to make ridiculous names for each step so she would remember. After he gave her an example problem, she seemed to have grasped the concept. "Thank you, Ichi-nii!" She said, attempting to wrap her small arms around his stomach.

"Yeah, no problem." He returned her affection with a one-armed hug. "Now, Karin. What about you?"

The older sister wrinkled her nose. "Not much. I just find English a stupid subject."

He rose his eyebrows. Of course she wouldn't admit she was having a problem, though he knew she would accept his help. Looks like his evening was booked.

* * *

Isshin swooned every time his children got along, though he never showed it to them. Probably because if he did, he wouldn't be able to get anything done. Once he had recovered from his failure of an attack, he decided he should get ready for his night patrol. He had already told Ichigo about it, so the girls would be taking his bed while he slept on the floor.

Isshin was paranoid, and Ichigo didn't fault him for it.

Walking into his room, he opened his closet to the array of clothes that lay behind the doors, though he was only focused on one. His Shinigami Shihakusho. He would end up passing it down to Ichigo when he moved on into Heroic's College, but that was years away. He would have to start training Ichigo soon, now that he thought about it. He just didn't have the time to do so.

He could probably ask Kisuke to do it, though he was a little fearful as to what the man might put his son through. Whatever the case, he knew his son would push through. That was just the person he was.

Clothed in his hero outfit, he grabbed his phone off the small counter, and moved to pocket it. That was before the flashing yellow light caught his attention. Flipping his upside-down phone in the air, he smiled to himself as he caught it right-side up, proud of his little stunt.

What could he say, he was just a really talented guy.

With a quick scan of his finger-print, the screen burst to life, with a few apps scattered around the home screen that was his late wife's face. With a quick swipe, he opened the text that had set off his phone, and it took a little more than a second for him to read.

We got a lock on All-for-One's base. Meet at the Agency.

His proud grin disappeared immediately, replaced with a hopeful, straight face.

Be there in less than a minute.

It seemed that today would be the day that all his efforts paid off.

Hopefully...

* * *

(-)

* * *

It had been about 45 seconds since he sent him the text when Isshin showed up at his agency, already dressed in his hero costume that had become iconic over the years. Toshinori Yagi almost had a heart attack when he had appeared in front of him, but he would have to put off his death until All-for-One had been taken down. "Jesus Isshin. You can't scare me like that."

The soul-reaper apologized. "Sorry about that. Just didn't want to delay this any longer."

He dipped his head. "Me and you both." All-Might was quick to motion him over to the digital map hovering on the table, where a blinking red dot flashed brightly in the slums of Hosu. "Now, we have more than enough support to take care of whatever hench-men All-for-One has gathered. Chiyo will be stationed a few blocks away from where the conflict should be happening, just to keep loses to a minimum." He explained, his finger tracing across the digital green streets that were projected by the table's surface.

"Who's taking 'him' on, other than you and I?" He asked, and he watched as his face stifled a wince.

"Just me and you. Endeavor wasn't able to make it."

Isshin cursed under his breath. 'Damn it, Kisuke. Why did you have to chose tonight to leave town?' He muttered to himself, before steeling his resolve. It had to happen tonight.

"Okay. You just promise me that you won't pull some stupid stunt like the last time." He almost ordered, though he was aware of the near futility in it.

All-Might just shook his head. "No promises, Isshin. You know that."

Isshin scowled in annoyance, but didn't push further. "Fine. Just know that I have a family who needs me, and I won't be able to risk everything to save your sorry ass." He growled.

The One-for-All holder just laughed with fearful mirth. "You better hope that it doesn't come down to you saving me, or we really are screwed."

They started to laugh, but stopped when Chiyo walked into the room, and there wasn't a single positive emotion on her face. "We're leaving."

And that was all they needed to hear.

* * *

(-)

* * *

His nerves were fried. The silence was deafening as the mass of heroes surrounded the seemingly abandoned complex. Small smoke billows puffed out of the tall smokestacks of the building, signalling that there was in fact people inhabiting the building.

"Isshin. You look like shit."

Shiho Aizawa. Someone he had grown accustomed to during his night patrols. He would put money on the fact that she was nocturnal. "Thanks. You just better hope I fight better than I look." He managed to joke, even in the tense atmosphere.

His unofficial partner just lazily grinned. "I know you will. You got too much to be fighting for to let this be your end." She told him in a rare show of faith. She had always been a 'do it yourself' kind of person, so he knew it was hard for her to just take care of the minions.

The terse silence resumed as they watched the broken down factory with hawk-eyes, almost as if searching for a special sign. One that was shown a minute later after they finished their conversation. "You better come back, you overgrown child."

And she leapt off the building, her tensile scarf wrapping around a high-rising pole and swung her around to the front of the large building.

It was official when the concrete ceiling of the complex opened up like a summer flower. The raid had officially begun.

While the heroes were outnumbered by a slight fraction, the coordination and teamwork quickly caused the villains' numbers to dwindle. Of course, there was the odd few that managed to hold their own against the well trained pro's, but even they were overwhelmed by the sheer power that their teamwork created.

Isshin couldn't pay attention to that, though. He continued to sit atop the slightly taller building that flanked the factory, and he was able to see the bright yellow patch-work of Toshinori's costume on the adjacent building.

They were both waiting for the same thing to show its face. Something that they could barely call human, All-for-One. He wasn't visible instantly among the massive brawl that was taking place beneath them, but it seemed their eyes locked onto him at the same time. The black suit, paired with the metal mask. It was undoubtedly him.

Isshin made his move when the predator raised his hand, and his fingers stretched out in a pure black material, intent on hitting a group of heroes fending off villains together. He was fast enough for his unreleased blade to cut the crystalline material through, and the stumps started to retract back into the King of Villain's hand. All-Might was quick to follow up, a nameless smash striking true onto All-for-One cheek. He was quick to back up, however, when an earthly spike protruded from the villain's rib-cage.

"Now, now. That's not a nice way to greet a long-time acquaintance." He snarled, nursing the bleeding stumps that were his fingers. They grew back, the appendages shooting out of the raw flesh, though the skin had to grow in a spiral around it.

"Tell me where you see an acquaintance, and I'll make sure to greet them properly." Isshin was smart to mask him rage. It would only make the 'creature' happy.

If All-for-One's eyes had been visible, then he would surely have seen his eyes roll in their sockets. "Two on one? Not the most fair fight, but I guess you have to make up for your disadvantages somehow." His foot shifted backwards. "Especially, when the difference in power is this..." He was upon Isshin in a second. "Drastic."

An overly-muscular fist marked for Isshin's chest was thrown at him, only giving him a split second to knock it away with the blunt side of his sword. Of course, he couldn't push it completely out of the way, and All-for-One's right-most knuckle clipped his shoulder. Which, given the power of the punch, managed to nearly dislocate his shoulder.

His friend was quick to back him up. "New York, Smash!" His American covered heel reared itself into the villains neck, and his head dipped unnaturally towards the ground. They were both quick to retreat out of range of whatever tricks the man-demon with-held, as Isshin checked where he had been hit. He peeled the left part of his shihakusho off his shoulder, where, sure enough, a small puncture wound lay, dripping with a clear liquid.

"Neurotoxin. A volatile substance to say the least. Just a single drop coming into contact with bare skin, let alone muscle tissue, can destroy nerves at an uncanny rate. I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't move your arm now!" All-for-One cackled, showing off the small pines on his hand, resembling that of a blow-fish.

Isshin cursed. "Damn it, he's right!" He told Toshinori, tightly coiling bandages around is arm and wound. "I can't feel anything on my left arm!" He had to bite the binding tie to tighten it.

They had no time to coordinate for his limp limb, as earth-ridden concrete spikes shot out of the ground surrounding All-for-One, the wave gaining magnitude as it traveled. "Texas Smash!" All-Might had reacted quickly, the high density air carving through the weakened cement like a knife on wood.

'He's got too many quirks, I can't tell which one he's going to use.' Isshin analyzed, as All-Might charged in on his behalf. It was noticeable that the bulkier man was much more suited for battle against the King of Villains, and without his off-hand, he couldn't release any part of his sword. It made him feel useless, as he watched his comrade struggle against his opponent, and he was sure that he would only get in the way.

His watching however, wasn't useless. Not in the slightest. He managed to find patterns in his attacks, ones that could be invisible to most, but definitely noticeable to him. More importantly, was that he could tell when the cruel ruler switched quirks. Not which ones he would switch to at that moment, but that was probably impossible.

When he would switch, his whole body would tense up for a split second, as if he was calling on the stolen power. After that point, he was able to use the power with ease. He grinned, almost savagely. "All-Might! Trade out!" He yelled, bursting towards his target.

The American Hero nodded, falling back as Isshin took over his assault. "Daring of you to fight with only one arm. I applaud your bravery." His sickly-bitter voice mocked, as he dodged a swing of Engetsu. The Soul Reaper watched closely, striking with determination until his opponent's body flexed, and he jumped away with trepidation.

"Oh? Finally figured me out have you?" He asked, a vine jetting out of the ground, only to be cut down in an instant.

"When you're that confident and don't even try to hide it, even amateurs could see it." Isshin taunted, the tip of his sword crossing All-for-One's chest.

"Maybe so..." He replied, dodging a flurry of strikes. "But being outclassed as you are, strategy can only do so much!" And he did something he hadn't done before throughout the entire fight. He used more than one quirk at a time. His speed increased dramatically, and the black crystalline material from the start of their fight covered his fists and forearms. On top of that, a multitude of spikes erected out of the ground wherever he stepped. "Can't dodge forever hero!" He snarled, his mouth gnashing into a chaotic grin.

"Isshin!" All-Might had warned him, arriving at his side to support him. He matched a few of his with All-for-One's blows, even out doing him at times, and it gave Isshin opportunities to strike. It just irked him that every slash, bruise or cut that appeared on his body healed instantly.

Eventually, after tiring the mad-man out, and with everyone watching, they stood a good distance away from each other, both parties heaving for breath. "One more push, and the son of a bitch is going down." Isshin encouraged, some semblance of air returning to him.

"Yeah. He's barely on his feet!" All-Might cheered. "I don't know about you, but I can go-"

"Heilig Bogen."

Before he could process the words, piercing blue light shot through his Zanpaktou, breaking it instantly as it fell to pieces. But, the loss of his weapon wasn't what scared him. He knew the weapon itself, as it had been his wife's, so he immediately ran to aid his friend when he realized that a bolt had hit Toshinori in the abdomen.

He couldn't die.

He wouldn't.

He was too stubborn to die like that.

His ear found itself on his chest, listening for a heartbeat while his finger sat on his jugular, feeling for the same pulse.

*Thump*

*Ba Thump Thump*

*Ba Thump*

He was alive, but the beating was irregular. Not good. He had to get help, and fast.

"ENGENIUM! GET HIM TO RECOVERY GIRL! NOW!" He yelled into the crowd of spectating heroes. It took a second, one that his friend might not be able to spare, but the engine-user arrived next to him. "Get him out of here now." He ordered, and his side-kick nodded, before lifting the massive hero on his shoulders and speeding off.

Without being able to help his friend anymore, he could focus back onto All-for-One. "And the prodigious hero falls, leaving the failure to face me on his own. How sad." The being he saw as the devil mocked. The man must have been Aizen resurrected.

'Engetsu. Can I still use Mugetsu?' He asked, a hidden rage filtering through his voice.

He felt his Zanpaktou gain conscientiousness. 'Indeed, but I fear the breaking of my vessel will cause the drawbacks to be instantaneous.'

'Doesn't matter. I can't face him without it.'

Engetsu spoke heavy with sorrow. 'Very well. It was a pleasure to serve with you, Isshin Kurosaki.' And the remains of Engetsu broke down into black mist.

"No matter what meaningless transformation you use. I will always be one step higher than you. That, is why I'll crush you at your best!"

The enigmatic smoke started by wrapping around his chest, forming into ceramic like bandages before moving onto his head. His hair grew darker, longer, absorbing any light that collided with his body as it floated behind him. Finally, it wrapped around his arm, turning it completely black, and turning his eyes red. "You shall know pain, as I have."

Isshin seemed to phase out of existence for a moment, causing All-for-One to look around him, before an impossible sharp pain tore at his spine. Followed by a second and a third, each perpendicular to the other. And finally, a kick that sent him erupting into the sky, as Isshin set himself up for his final blow.

"You shall know fear, as I have." A Hado pierced through his healing chest.

"And you shall know death, as I have."

And the sky grew the darkest it had ever been. A streak of void shot up into the sky, seeming to go on forever as it stretched towards the heaven, all the while expanding like a never ending pyramid. Any light that had been shining on that moonless night was eaten by the consuming void, stopping the bulk of business in a 100 mile radius.

And a second later, it all disappeared.

* * *

Light returned to the world shortly after, the only sign of the event happening being the cut walls around the area of execution, and the blood that rained down onto the complex.

No sign of All-for-One appeared other than the bits of blood, which tested positive for his DNA as scrambled as it had been. The Heroic's Association claimed him dead the next day, and attempted to cover up the raid the best they could, which they succeeded in doing.

Isshin Kurosaki was stripped of his Heroic's License, though he wasn't penalized further for his actions. He didn't care too much about the Heroic's Association removing him from their lists. He was powerless now anyway. He got a job at All-Might's agency, as an adviser for his side-kicks and other members of his team.

Speaking of All-Might, the wound inflicted by Masaki's quirk did it's job. He lost a decent chunk of his digestive and respiratory systems due to the damage sustained, and he became frail over time, while still being able to do what he called, 'buffing up' to make it look like he was fine.

Tensei Iida built his own agency when the Shinigami Agency was shut down, becoming a hit hero around the city of Hosu.

Shiho Aizawa took a job at U.A. Highschool, a female only Heroic's college, and shortly after, started dating the recently retired pro, Isshin Kurosaki.

Isshin Kurosaki popped the question on their one year anniversary. They got married 6 months after.

Toshinori Yagi, being best man at the wedding, gained the title of Symbol of Peace after the raid finished, and continues to do so in spite of his condition.

Anyway, what am I saying. You didn't come here for this story, did you? I suppose I should move onto the tale of our real protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki, Son, Prodigy, Legacy, Brother. But, most importantly, if you were to ask him, he was a Soul Reaper.

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(-)

* * *

Wow. That was quite the chapter, I feel. As far as Prologue's go, not bad.

Real first chapter should be out within two weeks, but don't quote me on it.

Anyway, you all have a good day.

Latta!


	3. Chapter 2: From Death, Spawns Life

The final, longish time-skip of the entire series, sans maybe the epilogue. Moving about 5 months prior to the UA Exams, so around 4 to 5 years. I'll give an explanation to what has happened over that time period in the story itself.

Oh yeah! This was checked over by my new beta: Tahaku!

Thanks for doing that for me.

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(-)

* * *

It had been a little longer than four years since his father lost his powers. It boggled him, as it felt like it had been a century with everything that had gone on between then and now.

Firstly, Goat-Face was stripped of his Heroic License. It made the former pro sad that he wasn't able to do what he enjoyed. Ah, but such is life.

Next, Shiho had started to date his father. She was a wonderful mother to Karin and Yuzu, as she was to him. And that was even before the marriage had happened.

Then, a few months after the marriage, and a month before, if he passed the exam, he would transition into the newly, or more accurately, officially co-ed college, UA. It had been called a female only school, but there had been about two or three male transfers every year from the United States department.

But, as I was saying, the week before the recommendation exam thingy had begun, his father had dumped him off at his uncle's place to 'unlock' his true powers. Which leads us to now, where he is sitting on the floor, in a dark room, with two young children trying to be scary. "So, uh. What does this sword, or any of this to be honest, have to do with the voice inside my head?" He growled out to the shop-keeper sitting in front of him, as the red-headed child continued to make annoyingly stupid faces, inches away from his own.

He had to remind himself that child abuse wasn't heroic.

"My employees have nothing to do with this. I just thought I'd let them have a little fun. Same with all the moody lighting, and the candles, and no floors."

What? He cleared his ears with his pinkies. "You better hope, for your sake as well as well as this shop's, that I misheard you, and haven't been sitting here for an hour just so your brats could have fun."

It was safe to say, that he had inherited the scary aura from his mother. Even Tessai got shivers. "Of course not!" Kisuke giggled nervously. "It was to get you ready for the real training! Right Ururu?"

The little girl looked at him with confusion. "I thought you said that we did this so we could play with the strawberry man."

Kisuke, Tessai, and Jinta face-palmed. Damn it, he knew he should've asked someone else.

Surprisingly though, the orange-haired teen didn't budge, other than give a grin promising of a slow death. "Just get started already, or I promise that you will wake up with a missing limb."

He was quick to show him down to the large, probably illegal, basement he kept under the shop. The sheer size, and, what he could only explain as beauty, of the blue bordered room managed to take his attention off of the murder he was about to commit. For now anyway. "How the hell did you build something like this?"

Ichigo asked, wandering away from the tall ladder that they had used to traverse underground.

"That, is a trade secret, my friend." His fan resumed its place on his sash, as he pulled a sword out of his cane. "But, that isn't what you are down here for, is it?"

Ichigo, who had been absentmindedly walking around the artificial plateau, dropped his eyes off the ceiling as he remembered. "Right. Now I get to kill your manipulative ass."

The shop-keeper chuckled playfully. "Luckily for you, that plays right into releasing your Quirk." He fully unsheathed the sword that lay in his cane. "For you to access your full powers, you must knock my hat off my head."

The strawberry groaned with frustration. "I told you I was done with these shitty games, Hat-n-Clogs."

That's when all the mirth on his face dropped. Kisuke's blade started to vibrate violently, like an addict craving their drug. "And who said this was a game? You're fighting for your life here Kurosaki..." He examined his blade. "Because Benihime is thirsty."

Ichigo wasn't one to fear much, but when his uncle leaped at him, his blade screaming for blood, he almost froze. 'Move it, you imbecile! Are you trying to die down here?'

The coarse, unknown voice in his head caused his arm to flick up, his sword meeting its blood-thirsty counterpart with a blaze of sparks. The force of his downward strike was a little too much for him to handle, causing him to tilt it to the right and provoking it to slide to his right. Ichigo used his foot to pivot to the left, and his non-dominant hand outstretched itself to knock Kisuke's hat off.

But he had already recovered. Ichigo watched as the merchant grabbed the intruding arm, smiling devilishly and in a way that made him pull away. Of course, he couldn't. Kisuke pulled the limb by the forearm, while his dominant hand repositioned it's hold on his weapon's hilt, giving him a better grip as he slashed diagonally at Ichigo's chest.

He stumbled back, once his opponent finished his attack, and the rather deep cut started to bleed expeditiously, pouring out in hazardous amounts. He chose the option that seemed most logical to him at the moment, an attribute given to him by his new guardian.

Retreat.

He had to dodge slash after slash of his assailant's blade, but it was strenuous with the newly created cut in his chest. 'Whoever you are, what ever power you might represent, I need a little help out here!' He yelled into his mind-scape.

He waited for an answer, his head pumping with adrenaline as he continued to avoid attacks meant to cleave him in half. Black started to creep into his vision as his head became light, his balance wavering for a moment as Kisuke stopped. When his body finally gave out on him, he unintentionally leaned forward with no intent on landing on his hands. He had even dropped his only means of defense, the katana. He had been beaten, and most likely would die from blood loss. It was odd, because it seemed like all emotions cleared from his body. He couldn't care about himself. His future, his family, the what-could-have-been's. It all just seemed to float through his mind, as his body slowly fell to the floor.

'I've been trying to help you, you impudent fool, but your fear had deafened you.'

His right leg shot out to catch him, his left falling on its knee as he struggled to stay upright.

'I never knew you to be weak, Ichigo. As a child, you've refused to accept loss as an end and have continued to, throughout your worst struggles, push forward to success. Yet now, an adult, you fall as you should have as a child.'

His uninjured arm gripped onto the sword that lay on the ground, using it to leverage himself upright since he wasn't sure if his back would truly support him.

'I refuse to believe that this is the fall of Ichigo Kurosaki. Especially, since you had, and still have such a bright path in front of you.

His kneeling leg pushed into an unhinged position, making him stand straight once more and putting an unbearable strain on his body.

'You will not fall to an enemy such as he as long as you can hear my name.'

Both his hands gripped onto the hilt of the dirtied, and even cracked weapon, and the contact caused them to glow a bright blue.

'Hear my name Ichigo! Hear it as you have refused it for so long.'

'Call my name, Ichigo!'

'As my name is...'

"ZAN-"

His arms brought the sword slashing to his right, intent on hitting a full 180 degrees.

"GETSU!"

And Kisuke wouldn't forget the devastation the summoning of the weapon had caused. Not in a long time.

He watched the hyper-dense reishi that had gathered at the tip of the blade stretch out where the blade had arced, forming a bright blue half-circle around Ichigo.

It expanded the second he released his sword. Anything level with the blue semi-circle was erased from existence, and it carved a half crater around him at least 20 meters wide, and 10 meters deep. It was a fascinating sight to see, the unharmed earth to his left, in comparison to the decimation on his right. It seemed that control might not be as far off as he thought, seeing how the side he hadn't been aiming for remained unaffected.

Now he, having received the bulk of the attack, wasn't as lucky. A hasty, blood-mist wall had removed any dangerous force, but his hat was blown several feet into the air, and marked the end of their training.

"Tessai! The training's complete! Get him upstairs and start with the Healing Kido, Stat."

He had to hope that his mother wouldn't kill him for the new scar on his student's chest.

But who was he kidding.

He should probably start writing his will then and there.

* * *

(-)

* * *

"Kisuke. I do hope that you will explain the state my son is in."

An evil chill fell onto the room when Shiho left the room where her son lay, covered in bandages, bruises, and cuts. Shutting the door behind her, where his sisters sat by his side, she unleashed the demon inside her. "Um... Training mishap...?" Her malice only grew deeper, and hatred started to spark off her. Whatever. It was worth a shot. "Fine. I was trying to get his full potential to show up, so I had to push him to the brink of death. It worked, by the way, and he'll be fine in the next three days."

*Slap*

'How the hell can she make a slap hurt that much?!' Kisuke cried to himself, in fetal position on the floor as he nursed his bright red cheek.

Isshin laughed at his friend. "That's why I've learned not to make her mad! Ehehe!" He taunted, pointing his finger at him childishly.

*Slap*

Only for him to end up on the floor next to him. "You don't get off the hook either."

It was reported to the police that torturous screams were heard throughout the night at the Kisuke complex.

* * *

(-)

* * *

"ICHIGO! GET YOUR LAZY ASS UP, SON!"

At least that had remained consistent after the marriage. He couldn't express how grateful he was...

"How about you let your hard-working son sleep in for once, you annoying prick!" Isshin was treated to a sharp elbow to the nose, stopping all his momentum in an instant. Damn, it felt good to be back. And just in time too, because the UA Recommendation exams were that afternoon. When his father finally fell off his arm, he wiped the bloody residue of his arm, and kicked him in the stomach, just to be safe.

After rolling the limp body out of his room, he checked his closet for a pair of casual clothes that he could wear to the exams. His hand shuffled through the clothes hanging off the metal pole that was strung across the top of the closet, grabbing a black, cuffed, long sleeved shirt to wear with a light grey hoodie.

Then, he picked a pair of blue jeans out of the folded pants that sat on the dresser, as well as a belt from one of the drawers.

*Knock Knock Knock*

"Ichi-nii! Mom says that you need to get ready! The exams gonna start in about two hours!"

He checked his watch. Damn! He really was a lazy ass. "Tell her I'll be done in a bit!"

Ichigo heard her feet move away from his room, probably to inform Shiho that he was getting ready.

After he had showered and gotten his clothes on, twenty minutes had passed, and it signaled him to get moving. He got his socks and shoes on, walking out of his bedroom door as he clipped his watch back around his wrist. The second he stepped foot out of the small hallway that lead to his room, his nose was assaulted by a barrage of delightful smells. It hurt his stomach to think that he didn't have time to eat any of it, since it was a lengthy train-ride to get to UA.

"Ichi! There's some toast on the table for you, and Mom's already outside!" Yuzu told him, pointing at the table where Karin and Isshin fought over the food already placed down.

"On it!" He grabbed the piece of toast that sat solitary on a plate, putting it in his mouth before running out the door.

"Took you long enough, problem child." She had been waiting at the door for him, as they ran towards the station. He had to remove the toast from his mouth before he could speak.

"Sorry, but recovering from the edge of death makes it kinda hard to get up in the morning." He argued.

"Whatever. You still could've made us late for the train."

He just grumbled as he took another bite of toast. 'I warned you that she would be mad.'

'Hey. That extra 30 minutes was worth it.'

They made it to the station in record time, managing to catch the bullet train on it's way to UA's home city, Musutafu. The building shot past them at ridiculous speeds, though it was expected when traveling a hundred miles slower than the speed of sound. He had forgotten how fast the bullet trains were. They would probably get there with plenty of time to spare. Or at least, he would. He was sure Shiho would have to judge a couple of the recommendation students.

The station they arrived at was a minute walk away from UA, and their running got them there within a few seconds, giving them a total 47 minutes of flexibility. "So, where do I go? I haven't studied the campus, since, it was an all girls school."

Shiho nodded. "Talk to Mic. She'll tell you where to go." She informed him, leaving before he could complain.

'Great.'

Zangetsu mirthfully laughed. 'You act like you hate her. You're feelings say that she's practically part of the family now.'

'Yeah. She's like the crazy aunt of the family.'

He felt Zangetsu roll his eyes as he approached the extravagant hero who was handing out flyers. It took her a second, at least he guessed since her eyes were covered in extremely dark shades, but she managed to recognize him. "Oh my goodness. Ichigo!" She yelled, running at him in what looked like mach speed.

'I have a feeling she has a super speed quirk.'

His 'aunt' crashed into him. "I swear, you're getting too tall."

He shrugged, though 6'4 was a little tall for Japan. "It's good to see you too, Mic." He greeted, as she let go of him.

"I didn't know you were applying for UA! Most boys are too scared, seeing that it's the first year that guys can enter through the exams." She said to him, handing him one of her flyer-map thingies. "Anyway, the recommendation students go straight to the left. You can follow the signs after that." Mic traced the route with her fingers.

"Err... Thanks, I guess. I think I understand."

She flashed him a toothy grin. "Hope so! You got a lot of people who believe in you, Kiddo. Now, get out there! Shoo!"

After getting pushed into the building, he followed the route that he had been given until signs that had clearly been decorated by the loud extrovert pointed out the rest of the way. He just groaned at the terrible drawings that decorated the poster board.

Eventually, he ended up in the indoor gym, where an unknown hero was waiting to check if everyone arrived. "Name?" She asked, looking at her clip-board.

"Ichigo Kurosaki."

She flipped a few of the papers, landing at the "I" section before finding his name. "Recommended by Eraserhead and All-Might?"

"Yup."

She looked at him incredulously, before marking his name off and sending him in.

They started with standard, basic strength tests to see what you were capable of, or at least that was what he was told. He was first dragged to the first test by the only male teacher at UA, and a new one at that, Snipe. "Alright kid. What yer gonna do is take that device there in your hand, and grip as hard as you can. Perty easy."

Ichigo nodded, sitting on the bench and grabbing the grip machine after removing his hoodie. "Go ahead. No need to be shy."

A vein popped out of his head, and he gripped onto the handle as hard as he could. "352.6? No, 353.6. My apologies. Now, what's yer name kid?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki." He informed Snipe.

"Strawberry, huh. Whatever. Just move along." He pointed the irritated Ichigo over to the next station, carrying the clipboard with him to hand to the next coach.

When she saw him, the female hero laughed a little. "Hey, girls! It's our first boy of the day!" She said to a couple of the other proctors. "Ichigo, huh? Alright. Just do a bench-press at you maximum weight, and we'll be done." She told him, and he started to weigh the bar.

1 ton.

2 tonnes.

3, 4, and he finally stopped at five.

"Hey, you sure you can do this much?"

Ichigo nodded. "I know my limits, thank you." He said a little irritably, as he shifted himself under the bar.

It took some effort, but he managed to bench the weight 5 times before finishing. "A-Alright then. Head over to the final test, and you'll be done until the races." She told him, handing him back the clip-board with his scores.

The final test was a little different. It wasn't a raw weight or pressure like the others, but instead, three judges rated your creativity with your quirk. "Alright! Ichigo Kurosaki. You're up next after this."

'Alright. I don't have you here, Zangetsu. Got any ideas?' He asked his Zanpaktou.

'I've got nothing, Ichigo. You have no Reishi control, and you cannot perform the - without me there, so there is little you can do with your high spirit energy.'

'Thanks for the encouragement.' He sarcastically thanked the spirit. 'Okay. So it'll have to be something physical then. I guess, sword-fighting? No, 'cause that's not part of my quirk. Damn it. What the hell can I do then?' He thought to himself, as he was called up to perform.

He was given a decent sized space to demonstrate whatever he could come up with, and the three judges sat at their table with his paper in front of them. 'Just release your spirit energy, Ichigo. No need for control, and it should be enough to get you a considerable score.'

His eyes widened with excitement. 'Hell yeah! Nice going, Zangetsu!'

It took him a second to get into the frame of mind he needed to be in, but once he was, it all clicked. "Here it comes."

And nearly everyone around him fell short for air. It was like the sea itself had fallen above the room, crushing everyone in it with nearly unbearable pressure. His body was bordered with the densest of the pressure, so much so that it affected the light traveling off him and distorted his image.

'I think that is enough.' Zangetsu interfered, his concentration breaking and dispelling the aura.

Ichigo clicked his tongue. 'Damn it! You didn't even let me get to the good stuff.'

The judges had been bewildered, same with everyone else in the indoor gym, and the oldest woman placed his sheet in a small pile compared to the rest. "G-Go outside onto the t-t-track and wait for th-the next race to start."

So he did. Ichigo had just missed the last one, so he was left to sit on one of the bleachers while he waited. His eyes wandered the empty field, wondering why they didn't hold the trials out here instead of in the stuffy room. Maybe something was planned already, but he didn't think so. At the same time, he finally grasped how big UA actually was. There was the main building, of which he was next to. There were 12 training zones, each spanning a few miles in diameter, 6 dorms, previously four before the addition of the male dorms. And finally, there were the tracks fields, eight of which placed around the UA facility.

He wondered how much all this cost them. 'Billions, No doubt. Probably up there in the ten billions, actually.' He thought to himself.

'At least.'

"Hey, you! You're that really strong guy who just did that thing, right?!"

He turned his head, noticing the brown-haired girl that had sat next to him. She kept her hair short, almost like his own in a way with how frizzy it was. She was a little above average height, standing at a decent 5'11 that matched her muscular build. Lastly, she wore a dark green tank top with khaki brown cargo pants that seemed a little big.

"Depends on what 'thing' you are talking about." He hadn't meant to sound so bored.

She smiled a very off-putting grin. "I mean when you stole everyone's breath, literally! Some people even got knocked down!" She had exclaimed.

Ichigo shrugged. "Yeah, that was me."

That was where her personality took a turn. "Well I'm Ikuyo Yoarashi! Nice to meet you!" She yelled, her head crashing into the metal bleachers. She even left a dent in the shape of her face.

"Ichigo Kurosaki! Now please don't do that again!" He had almost jumped out of his seat when she did it the first time.

"I will try, but no promises!"

He slowly nodded. He could already tell this was going to be an odd friend to have, but, when did he have normal people around him? Oh yeah. Never. He figured out though, as they got to talking to each other, that she was actually rather tame and well mannered. Maybe she was a little bi-polar.

By the time enough people had gotten around to the race, they had already gotten through about twenty or so topics, since she seemed to not focus on one thing for too long.

"Anyone participating in the final test, follow me to the area where it will be conducted."

She had practically popped out of her seat like pop-corn, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him as she followed the proctor. "How do you think you're gonna do? Good? I think I'm going to do really good! My quirk makes me really fast, so- mmph-mphm-mmhm-hmmph!"

He had to cover her mouth with how loud she was speaking. "I think I will do fine. Just, please quiet down a little?"

She nodded, his hand still closed over her mouth for another second before he let go. "Sorry. I just get a little excited over quirks and competing."

He waved her off. "Passion for something isn't something to apologize for. I'm just usually around someone who's already really loud, so I try to enjoy quiet while I can."

'Make that two, actually.' He thought, reminding himself that both Present Mic and his father were above average in noise level.

Smiling as they reached their destination, which was a 2000 meter long strip of concrete, she started to jump for joy. "It's so open around here! I'm sure to get a lot of wind flow here!" She started to fly upwards, only to be anchored down by Ichigo.

"Sorry about her. Little bit of an air-head." He said to the many prying eyes.

"You two need to take this a little more seriously."

He heard the statement from an averaged-height female with split-color hair. Her left side of her face was covered with her red hair, and her icy right eye pierced through him. And, curvaceous as she was, she clearly put a lot into her body.

"Thanks for the advice, but I think we're taking this plenty serious." He was surprised to hear Ikuyo talk so passive-aggressive, her cold tone almost biting, but he had to agree with her. He just didn't think that she had an angry bone in her body.

The woman who had called them out scoffed irately, but she turned away as if they weren't worth her time, which was in fact, exactly what she was thinking.

"And, who the hell does she think she is?" He asked no one in particular, through gritted teeth.

"That, is the daughter of Endeavor. She has the same attitude as her father, and it makes me sick." Ikuyo's hair bristled wildly.

Now, not many people knew this, but Ichigo had an unspoken hatred for the Hellfire user. When his father told him about Endeavor refusing to join the raid in favor a more publicized charity ball, he had started to blame the loss of his fathers quirk on the hero. That, in tandem with his other misdeeds and unheroic behaviours, and it had created one hell of a grudge.

"You don't like him either." She pointed out.

"Definitely not a fan."

The clapping of one of the test proctors called their attention back to the exams, as she told the group of about...Oh, 7 or 8 students to line up at the start. "Watch the digital clock in front of you. When the timer reaches zero, get to the end as quickly as possible. Should be simple enough."

She explained, as he finally recognized her as the hero Vlad Queen. She stood quite tall, her red, skin-tight uniform covering the bulk of her body, sans the face and part of the chest. She had short grey hair and orange glasses, as well as two fangs that poked out of her mouth. "Now for some rules. No interfering with another student's run, and any component of your quirk is allowed, as long as you keep damage to a minimum."

So, pretty much anything was fair other than attacking the other competitors.

"Now get your asses in line already and stop staring like a bunch of children!"

Ichigo kneeled down into a sprinters crouch, watching as the thirty second timer started to tick down. "Good luck, Kurosaki!"

When the timer ran down to 0, a gun-shot only furthered the point that they needed to start, and he started to run.

Fast.

He burst ahead of anyone else for the first 400 metres, his feet digging small holes in the ground every time he stepped and pushed off the ground. And when he heard the high winds of Ikuyo behind him, as well as the flash-freezing of ice, he dug his foot into the ground for a final time, before disappearing.

And a second later, he was 200 metres from the finish line. "Stop stalling and get your ass across the line, Ichigo."

He didn't know that Shiho would be waiting for him at the end of the line, and he sure as hell didn't expect her to encourage him. It was in her own way, sure, but it was still encouragement.

A few seconds later, and he finished the race, his time being displayed at the top.

Ichigo Kurosaki - 13.36 seconds.

He was pretty proud of his score, probably because everyone else had just crossed the half-way thresh-hold, but the judges didn't look impressed. "I thought we said, Minimal damage dealt. Making small craters everywhere just made our job harder."

Ichigo nervously grinned. "Oops. Sorry."

They rolled their eyes annoyingly. He really hadn't meant to.

Guess they were still getting used to guys participating.

By the time they had redirected their attention, the other contestants had started to cross the finish line. It was close, but in second place was a floating Ikuyo, using the wind around her to propel her forward, then Endeavor's kid, who used ice to push herself towards the finish, almost like Ikuyo, and finally, a woman with her black hair in a ponytail who had created a motorbike, and the others he didn't pay attention to. They were a little too far behind for him to care.

"That was crazy Ichigo!" Ikuyo landed right in front of his face. "I thought you were just going to run the entire time, but then you went all, WHOOSH, and you disappeared!" She had started to reenact his actions. "Then you showed up like a foot away from the finish line! Your quirk is crazy!"

He smiled. "Yeah, I got pretty lucky. But at the same time, it took a lot of work to get here. I'm sure you know that. You aren't anything to scoff at either."

She blushed, but her smile only grew. "Hard work is what makes a hero! All of us should try to be hot-blooded!"

He gave a small laugh, stretching his arms into the air. "I'm not sure I'll be able to get on you level, but I'll try." He dropped his arms. "So, do you want to stay in contact? I could give you my number, if you want."

She nodded. "Yeah! That would be really cool, cause then we could see if we're in the same class! But I don't have my phone on me. I accidentally forgot it at home." Ikuyo explained.

"Alright then. Just put your number in there, and we should be good." He handed her his phone.

"Right!"

* * *

(-)

* * *

After trading their numbers, they stuck around for a bit as they waited for the day to end. Of course, it had concluded with Present Mic herding them out of the premises, and Ichigo meeting with his mother.

With a quick goodbye, they parted ways as she walked to what he guessed was her home, and in the opposite direction of the train station where he was headed.

*Bing*

His phone sounded off as he boarded the bullet-shaped transport, finding two empty seats that he and his parent occupied. He checked the message he had received, and wasn't surprised to see that it had been Ikuyo. It only made sense that her hyper-active personality transferred over text.

Ikuyo: Testing Testing! Hello, Hello?

Ichigo: Works fine on my end.

She responded immediately.

Ikuyo: Nice! That means I did keep track of your number!

Ichigo: Yeah. Guess that does.

Ikuyo: Just wanted to make sure!

He placed his phone back in his pocket. "Girlfriend?"

Ichigo grumbled. "No, just a friend Dry-eyes."

Shiho smirked. "Yeah. Me and your father were just friends, problem child."

He didn't know that his mother could tease paternally.

'It seems like that woman is full of surprises.'

'Kinda have to be when you're a hero.'

'Fair point.'

His sisters had been waiting for him at the train-station, same with his father, and Yuzu had tackled him when he walked out. "How'd you think you did, Ichi-nii?" She asked, as he lifted her onto his shoulders.

"I'm sure I made it in. I was getting weird looks the entire time though. Oh and I met this girl and we competed in this cool race thing..."

* * *

Shiho let his voice drown out as he walked home with his sisters, Yuzu on his shoulders as Karin listened beside him. It always amazed her how much of a different beast he was around his sisters. She thought of herself as a little over-protective, but even she couldn't compare to Ichigo. The amount of beatings that had been administered to her bullies was in the double-digits, though she knew that had he not have done so, she would've.

She had been apprehensive at first when Isshin had explained to her the death of their biological mother and how much they had revolved around her. Shiho didn't want to replace her, or bring danger to his kids. Hell, she barely knew how to parent at all.

Thankfully, none of them had seen her intrusion on the family as a replacement for what had been lost, and saw her as her own person. Yuzu had warmed up to her quickly, calling her mom the week after the marriage, something that warmed her heart to this day. Karin took a little longer, but followed in her sister's footsteps a month later.

Then, there was Ichigo. He was nice to her, treated her like family, but he didn't think of her as a mother. A parent, maybe, but that was different. He had been opening up to her and even given her the nickname, Dry-Eyes.

Progress, to say the least.

She had just hoped that it wouldn't take another 5 years for him to call her mom.

* * *

End.

* * *

Well then. Two, 5k long chapters in two days. I am really getting back into writing! Hope you all enjoyed.

Latta!


	4. Chapter 3: Of Course, that must mean

"Ack-hem. Hello? Is this thing on? It is? Good."

The hell was All-Might doing delivering his acceptance speech. "Oh yeah. He's going to start working at UA this year."

Great. That was going to be fun. A fourth, overly loud person to disrupt his life.

"Hello, Ichigo Kurosaki! I bet you are wondering why I am delivering this message to you!"

Nope. Already explained.

"Well, I will be teaching at the UA institution from this day forward, guiding brave youths down the path of being a hero!" He gave a signature thumbs up to the camera. "And I am happy to announce that you will be joining me at this new UA, in Class 1-A!"

So he was making it in. The confirmation of that made him smirk. "You placed the highest out of the one hundred recommendation students, and your new friend was not far behind. Your physical capacity is incredibly high, as you even managed to set a record for the 2000 meter race!"

Wait? That was surprising. He was sure there would've been someone who had beaten his time. Oh well. He wasn't going to complain.

"Um... Not much else to say there. If you are moving into the dorms, try to have it done by the end of the week. There. Is that all...? It is? Alright then, I suppose I will see you at UA! Plus Ultra!"

And the hologram shrunk down. "Damn. That was anti-climactic."

Shiho agreed with his claim. "The actual exams had a little more suspense to them. Probably because the test was a little more large scale, and based a little less off just raw strength. Either way, you're in my homeroom, so I have a list of your classmates. If you want it, that is."

"Yeah, I'll take it. Doubt I'll know anyone there though."

She shrugged. She certainly hadn't recognized anyone, other than her son. She handed him the list, and he only lightly scanned it before handing it back. "Well, Ikuyo's in the same class, I guess. Same with Endeavor's daughter. I can already tell there's going to be some annoying conflict."

Shiho groaned at that too. Conflict was the last thing she needed.

Especially if she wanted some sleep.

"Alright. I guess you should get packing, then. I can find a picture of the dorms for you. It's annoying to think that you'll have to share a dorm with all the girls in your class."

Ichigo froze. He cleared out his ears, hoping he had misheard. "What now?" His voice cracked unusually.

"Yeah. Nezumi had to tear down the new dorms though, due to some violation of a building space law? Some bull-shit like that, so now the dorms are mixed. All of them."

Well. He was sure he was fucked. "Anyway, I'll get out of your room so you can do whatever. Just don't cause me any more problems, problem child."

And she left him alone in the room.

Suffice to say, he had to rethink the choices he had made over the past few months.

* * *

(-)

* * *

He had started with his photos.

One by one, he took them down, reminiscing about the memories each one had carried. There was the one he kept in his closet on his dresser.

It was a picture of himself, his father, and his biological mother, Masaki. They had gone to the beach that day, and he remembered how difficult it was for his father to set up the camera. He hadn't brought a tripod, so he had to set it up against Ichigo's sandcastle. He smiled wistfully as he recalled how funny it was when the photo had gotten blocked by a crab. He and his mother had fallen down laughing when the crustacean latched onto Isshin's finger.

A good memory. Something of which he had few during his younger years.

Next, the larger frame that hung on his wall. This one had been much more recent, a photo of his family on the day of his father's second wedding. He was a little shit back then, because he didn't even smile, and instead, frowned deeper than he usually did. Shiho had been resilient though, and he eventually warmed up to her.

And finally, on his bedside table, was a picture of himself, Yuzu, Karin, Isshin, Present Mic, Shiho, Kisuke and Yoruichi on the day of his graduation from high-school. He had passed the hellish years with flying colors, placing top five in his class, and excelling in his soccer and Kendo sports.

In general, he had felt pretty awesome that day.

When his pictures had been packed away, he topped his suitcase with an assortment of necessary clothes. The rest would be moved in boxes, but he needed a clean supply while he got situated. He put his tooth-brush, tooth-paste, shampoo, and soap all in the same suitcase.

He had a small care-package if for some reason he couldn't access his stuff when he moved, and with that out of the way, he started to filter everything else into their own boxes.

Clothes, accessories, bedding, all the bland stuff that he wouldn't need instantly went into the three, semi-large boxes. It made him feel boring, stale almost, because everything he owned fit into three boxes.

Oh well. Made his life a little easier.

He loaded them onto the red dolly Goat-Face had loaned him, securing them down with a strap before he rolled it out of his room. "Room's cleared out. What do you have planned for it?" He asked his dad, who was leaning against the counter with a cup of coffee in his hands.

"Your sister wanted her own room. Probably end up giving it to her."

"Oh yeah. Speaking of those two, I need to say goodbye before I go. They wouldn't forgive me if I didn't."

Isshin nodded. "They're in my room, giving your mother a make-over."

He laughed at the absurdity of the statement. "You're telling me, that Yuzu and Karin are giving Shiho a make-over? I have to see this!"

Ichigo let the dolly go, peeking his head into the doorway of his parent's room where he was treated with a genuinely heartwarming sight. Yuzu was giving her mother mascara while Karin curled her hair. Shiho looked happy, truly happy, and it hurt him a little to break up such a moment. Walking into the room, he spoke. "Hey...I'm heading out to the dorms now."

Yuzu was the first to react, turning around, surprised by his appearance in the room before tears started to well up in her eyes. "So you're leaving?" His silent nod, caused her to drop her makeup to hug him. "I'm going to miss you, Ichigo!" She cried into his shirt, to which he, of course, hugged back.

"I'll miss you too, Yuzu. I doubt anyone will be as good as a cook as you are." Ichigo kissed her on the cheek, before moving onto Karin. "You too. You'll have to protect your little sister now in the stead of your older brother."

Yuzu complained about how she wasn't that much younger, but they didn't listen. "You know I will. Now get out of here before I start crying."

Karin. always the tough one. "Alright then. I'll visit you all as much as I can, alright?"

"You better, overgrown strawberry." She replied sharply.

"And you." He pointed to Shiho. "I'll see you on Tuesday, Mom."

Then he closed the door behind him. He was sure that got a reaction out of her, even if she didn't show it.

With a sigh, he walked back into the kitchen where his dolly was waiting. "You know how much that means to her, right?"

"Of course I do, Goat-Face. And she knows how much it means to me." He started to walk towards the door. "Anyway, I've got a train to catch. I'm a busy man. Places to move into, friends to make, and, most importantly, old farts to surpass." The last thing he saw on his father's face when he walked out was a cheeky grin.

It was at that moment, he realized it was official.

It was that moment that he realized, he was on his way to become the best hero in the world.

* * *

(-)

* * *

When he arrived at the dorm, with his suitcase and boxes in tow, most of his classmates had already moved in completely and were hanging out in the lounge downstairs. Right in front of where he was entering.

So when he opened the doors, almost everyone's eyes landed on him. "Hey. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. It's good to meet you all." He spoke simply, attempting to avoid conflict until later.

"Oh! We really are in the same class Ichigo! This is going to be a great year!" Ikuyo yelled, shooting up from her seat. "Now! Allow me to lead you to your room! Everyone else already picked one, so I made the decision for you!"

As he had come to expect, he was dragged out of the room, succeeding in his plan to avoid contact with the mass of females as he was brought to his room. "I chose the room right next to mine, so we can be room-buddies!" Ikuyo beamed, pushing him into the high-quality room.

It reminded him of his old room, if not a little spacier, with a king-sized bed being placed against the middle of the east wall, a large closet on the south wall, a normal windowless with to his west, and a completely glass wall to his north, though it could be covered by a sliding wall. "Huh. Easy to unpack, I suppose."

Setting his luggage at the foot of the bed, he moved to unpack before he was pulled back out of the room. "You aren't just going to sit here and decorate right now! We're all trying to get to know each other, you included!"

Well, maybe he hadn't succeeded. "Okay fine! Just stop dragging me already!" He yelled, pulling his arm out of Ikuyo's grip.

"I deeply apologize! I hadn't meant to inconvenience you!" She hit one of her deathly stiff bows; her head almost reaching the floor if her boobs hadn't stopped her.

Now he was put on the spot. "I-It's fine! Just, ask next time."

"Yes, sir! Now hurry up so we can get to know everyone."

He grumbled but followed her back to the lounging room where the bulk of Class 1-A sat, speaking about anonymous topics. "Hey! The sole male of 1-A decided to join us! Ichigo, was it?"

The question as asked by an average-sized girl, with waist-length blonde hair and two cerulean blue eyes. "Yeah?"

The woman placed her hand on her hip. "Well, I hope you know that you and your perverted plans won't succeed here! There's nineteen of us and only one of you. A lousy, perverted man! So be prepared to have your fantasies turned on you, you giant ba-"

She had meant to finish her remark, that much he could tell, but it must have been kinda hard when she got knocked out by a chop it the side of her neck. "Sorry about her! Not all of us see you like that!" The owner of the hand apologized, as the blonde fell limp in her arms.

"Whatever. I don't doubt that you all were a little apprehensive when you heard there was a guy in your class. It was a female-only school, and I wasn't even planning to come here until like, 6 months ago."

Most of them looked surprised. "I'm curious. What made you come to UA then?" It had been the girl who created a bike during the recommendation exams who asked the question. She had kept her black hair in a ponytail then, but it seemed that she preferred to keep it down when she relaxed.

"My mom who teaches here suggested I do so." He took a seat on the floor since it seemed all the chairs were taken, and Ikuyo sat next to him with her legs crossed, mimicking his own position.

"Your mom's a Pro-Hero and a Teacher at UA?" A pink-skinned girl with pale horns topping her head inquired.

He dipped his head. "She's my step-mom, I guess. I lost my real mom a while ago, and she was a Pro too. Same with my father actually, but he lost his license back when I was 14. I guess you could say I have quite a bit of heroic heritage in my family."

They all looked away uncomfortably. Damn it, he hadn't wanted for them to pity him. "Hey! Don't you dare start to look down on me because of that, or even pity me! I got over that long ago, and I really didn't come here for your sympathy." He growled, ending all the pitiful glances they had been giving him.

'Good save. Now you look like a dick.'

'Shut up, asshole.'

Then, a semi-transparent girl, who seemed quite stoic from what he could tell, with her short grey-blue hair covering her left eye, asked him a question. "Does your name mean strawberry? That's kinda girly."

That got a few quiet snickers from the group. "No, damn it! It means One who Protects! Why don't people understand this!" He slammed his fist on the ground, but it only made them laugh more. "Stop! It's not funny!"

Even if Ichigo couldn't, Zangetsu could tell that they were all going to get along just fine.

* * *

(-)

* * *

"Alright, Everyone! I think it is about time we all formally introduce ourselves to one another since it seems everyone is here!" A tall, lean girl with engines on her calves called their attention, all 20 pairs of eyes falling on her. "It is a key part of this class that we all get to know each other, and I refuse to let us slack!" Her blue, bob-shaped hair bounced as she did. "I, in honor of suggesting the idea, will go first as a demonstration!"

She stood up in the middle of the room, with bewildered, interested, and confused eyes watching her as she did. "First, your name, like so! Hello everyone! I am Toyo Iida, and it is a pleasure to meet you! Next, your quirk! Mine is called engine, and it allows me to run at Mach speeds at the cost of me needing to intake citric acid often! And you end off with your likes and dislikes! I myself enjoy jogging, as well as reading modern literature! I dislike sweet foods, and villains!" She finished, bowing as if expecting applause.

She got a little, much to her enjoyment.

The pink girl from earlier jumped off her seat. "Oh-Oh! I'm going next!" She exclaimed, going to where Toyo just stood. "Hey everyone! I'm Mina Ashido! Nice to meetcha! My quirk is called acid, and it allows me to secrete any liquid on the pH scale! It's what makes my skin pink!" Mina showed off her ability to do so by making a pool in her hands, before absorbing it again. "I like sour stuff a lot, and love gymnastics and dancing. I dislike bullies, but that's about it." She finished, before taking her spot next to an invisible girl.

"Me next!" Ikuyo shouted, bringing the attention to her. Ichigo could already see where this was going. "My name's Ikuyo Yoarashi!" She pulled off one of her over-exaggerated bows. "My quirk is called Whirlwind, and it gives me control of all the surrounding gasses and air around me! I like hot-blooded people and being a hero! I dislike bad heroes and thunderstorms!"

She had been facing the ground the entire time, her body bent at over 90 degrees, but she was still audible at the volume she was speaking. When she finished, the orange-haired girl who saved him from a berating blonde moved to take her place. "Hey. How'd I do? Did I make a good impression?" Ikuyo whispered.

"You made an impression, that's for sure."

The woman cleared her throat before speaking. "Heya! I'm Itsuka Kendo, and it's nice to meet you all! My quirk is kinda boring, but it's called Big-Fist. It kind of explains itself, my hands grow bigger, but it's useful when I'm fighting because they also become a lot harder and stronger." She let her hand grow about twice it's normal size. "I like martial arts a lot since I have studied it for years, but I also enjoy socializing. I dislike shopping, just because I see it as useless and boring."

Next, was a girl with explosive blonde hair. "Listen up you extras! You better remember this, because right now, you're looking at the future number 1 hero, Katsuyumi Bakugo!" Well, confidence wasn't a necessarily 'bad' trait, he supposed. It was just a little silly, seeing how she was on the smaller side of the scale in all aspects. "My quirk is called explosion! It lets me sweat nitro-glycerin on my palms and feet, which is super fucking awesome! I like spicy foods and fighting! I hate losing and people looking down on me! Oh yeah! Now hurry this the fuck up so I can leave!"

Jeez. That was a little much.

"Yo! My name's Eiko Kirishima, and it's super cool to meet you all!" She was even shorter than Katsuyumi by a good 2 inches, putting her at just above 5 foot. "My quirk is called Hardening! It's not very flashy, but it's crazy useful! My skin can turn as hard as diamonds, but the harder it is, the more it takes out of me!" Ichigo watched her skin sharpen. "I like sweet things, baths, cats, and being manly! I hate showers and rude people!"

Huh. Cute.

With all the more social people out of the way, no one was very eager to step up. So, he volunteered. "Hey. The name's Ichigo Kurosaki, as I said earlier. It's good to meet you all." He gave a small wave. "My quirk has an obnoxious name, but it describes it well. It's called Death God, and it does a variety of things. It raises my physical strength much higher than average, and the same goes for my speed. It's got a passive effect of slowing people down around me if I can't control it. The final thing it can do is called flash-step, and I move at around Mach-10 for as long as 2 seconds at a time. I suppose I like curry, as well as reading Shakespeare. I hate people who look down on others based on their quirk status or look at them based only on their quirk. I guess I kind of dislike sweet stuff too, other than dark chocolate."

When he finished, most people had seemed to relax now that the elephant was out of the room, and were more interested in socializing. "Hello. I'm Reiko Yanagi. My quirk is called Poltergeist. It allows me to phase through solid objects, as well as lift objects around me. I like Halloween and winter. I dislike the sun. "

"I'm Neiko Monoma. My quirk allows me to copy emitter quirks for 15 minutes, and there isn't a limit on how many I can use at once from what I can tell. I can also permanently copy a quirk, but I need to have the consent of the user, and any quirk that I had permanently copied before will be erased."

For how rude and dominating she had been to him when he first entered, she seemed rather calm when addressing everyone else. Not to mention her quirk was cool as hell, if not a little demeaning. The fact that she had to copy quirks probably lead to some major bullying. That aside, he wondered if she could copy his.

"I like muscular guys and being the best, but mostly muscular guys. I dislike stuck up people, or people who put others who are at a disadvantage down!"

Well, pervert as she might be, he was sure he was right about her being bullied.

"Hey, the name's Hana Sero! My quirk turned my elbows into tape dispensers, and that caused it to be called Tape! What comes out of my elbows can vary, it can be really sticky or not at all, and can be strong or weak. I like going to the park and hammocks, just because it's fun to swing around. I dislike the limitations on quirks, and I'm a little scared of thunder-storms."

He smiled at that. This class really did have its quirks, other than their actual quirks. 'You and your puns can go straight to hell."

'Not before you, I can't.'

"I suppose I will go next." The woman he had started to call bicycle girl commented, standing up from her one-person chair. "I am Momo Yaoyorozu. I come from a high-class family, but please do not let that deter you from conversing with me. For my quirk, it was dubbed Creation. It allows me to transmute my fatty lipids into any form of matter or atom, but only the ones of which atomic structure I know. I enjoy volleyball as well as cycling, though reading older literature is my favorite. I dislike vulgar language, rude people, and other disgusting things."

High-Class, huh? That was probably a much better nickname than his other one.

"Hello! My name is Ochako Uraraka, and it is really cool to get to know you all! My quirk is pretty cool in my opinion, though it isn't the greatest when it comes to fighting. It's called Zero Gravity, though it's a little more complex than that. By touching all five of my fingers onto something, it gets rid of the effects of gravity on that object. Let it be the Earth's gravity or the Moon's, nothing affects them. I hope to become a Rescue Hero when I'm done with college! Um, let's see... My likes are Mochi, as well as tea. Space is really cool too! I dislike bitter things a lot, though!"

She reminded him of Yuzu. It had been the only thing that kept him sane, keeping someone like his sister around. Hopefully, she would have the same effect.

"What's up you guys!" The floating clothes had shot off the couch. "My names Toru Hagakure! It's really nice to 'see' you all! Ehehe!"

He knew he would get along with her. No doubt about it.

"Anyway, my quirk is Invisibility. Like, duh. No explanation needed. I like frilly clothes and going shopping! I dislike bummers and party poopers."

Kinda kiddy, but he didn't mind.

Next, was a girl just as short as Kirishima, though she had much fluffier green hair, and was a little less busty. "H-Hello... My name's Izumi Midoriya, and i-it's nice to meet you all, I guess...? Anyway, my quirk is called super-pow-"

"Shut up, you quirkless Deku! You don't have a quirk, you useless cheater!"

Oh. So that was who she had meant when she said Deku. She had been calling the shy girl useless this entire time. All because she didn't have a quirk, or hadn't? While the green-haired girl seemed to disagree, she was overwhelmed by the aggressiveness of Katsuyumi. He didn't know the story behind the two, but he sure as hell wasn't going to sit around and listen to them argue.

"Hey, Bakago or whatever your name was. Sit the fuck down and listen. I'm not trying to listen to you shout for a good five minutes."

The ash-blonde turned to him. "The fuck you say to me, extra?!"

Ichigo got off his ass, practically towering over where the two had been arguing. "I said, sit down and shut up. I don't want to listen. To. You. Whine."

She stared right back up at him, neither of their gazes wavering as they waited for the other one to crumble for a solid minute. No one tried to stop them out of fear of their anger being turned on them.

Ichigo's stubbornness outlasted Katsuyumi's, as she let out an angry and reluctant 'hmph' when she sat back down to listen to the green girl's introduction. "Sorry about that." He said through gritted teeth, resuming his own seat on the pillow that laid on the ground.

"A-A-Anyway, I w-was saying that m-my quirk is called Super-Power." Katsuyumi snorted. "It lets me use incredible strength, but i-if I use anything more than 1% of its power, it breaks my bones..." She explained.

'She's got the same aura as Toshinori, if not a little stronger. Do you think he found himself a successor?'

Ichigo mentally chuckled, a wry smile finding its way on his face. 'He would be the kind of guy to choose someone like her, even though she's not at all ready or physically capable of handling his quirk. He's going to stifle her attempts more than anything by giving it to her so early on... I don't know though. I guess I could ask after this is all done with.'

'That would be a good idea.'

He made a mental note to message his father's friend, or really, his unrelated brother.

"So... for my likes, I really like All-Might and researching quirks! He's just such a cool hero! And quirks are super impressive! I don't dislike anything, really. Although, I don't like it when people take what they are given for granted."

Alright. That had been a little more eventful than he had thought.

"I guess I'll go, ribbit."

Another short, green-haired girl croaked out, though she seemed a little more sure of herself, and had more...he didn't want to say bulbous, by they definitely had larger facial features. "I'm Tsuyu Asui. I'm a little blunt. people say, although I just speak what I see as the truth. My quirk is called 'Frog', and it gives me all the attributes of a frog. Except for the weird feet. I like lakes, showers, baths, and the color green. I dislike liars, perverts, and cold dry places."

Alright. Pretty standard for a Heroic quirk. A vast majority of quirks were centered or based around some kind of animal.

"Hey. Yui doesn't talk, like, at all and Pony can't speak Japanese very well. Can they be skipped?" Itsuka asked, pointing at an admittedly beautiful and another clearly foreign student.

No one seemed to be at odds with the suggestion. "Okay. Thank you!"

"Wait. What language does she speak?" Ichigo asked.

Itsuka looked at him. "English?"

"If she wants, I could translate for her." He offered.

"Wait. You speak English?!" The foreigner asked.

He shook his head. "Barely... Can understand well..."

He was very heavily accented, but at that point, it didn't matter. She had found someone who could understand her well. "That's fine! I can understand Japanese well, so you won't have to talk in English! And, thank you for the offer of translating for me, but it's really okay."

He shrugged. "Alright. I won't make you then."

With that out of the way, the introductions continued.

"Greetings, everyone. My name is Ibara Shiozaki and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintances. My quirk is rather simple, as it gives me control over plants and other vegetation. My likes are gardening and painting among other things. I have a strong indignation towards the perverted and other sinners."

Hmm. Pretty.

"Hey everyone, I'm Setsuna Tokage! It's great to meet you all, and I can tell this is going to be an exciting year! I guess I should start with my quirk? Um, it's called Lizard Tail Splitter. Weird, right? But anyway, it lets me remove any part of my body from the main body. It gets hard to tell what is the 'main body,' but it's always the part attached to my head." She pulled her arm off, much to everyone's disgust and surprise. "I know! Pretty gross, right? So, my likes are any kind of sweets, and snakes are really cool too. I don't dislike much though. Maybe birds, but that's about it."

"I suppose I'll go now..." A short girl, shorter than Midoriya and Eiko, volunteered softly. "I'm Kinoko Komori... My quirk is really cool, and it lets me make any kind of mushroom I want... My likes are mushrooms and other kinds of fungus. My dislikes are badgers, snakes, and scary things."

He swore that she was smiling maniacally whenever she said the word Mushroom. Kinda scary.

"Thank you to everyone who participated. Now I know exactly how to beat you." Everyone turned their heads to look at the speaker.

Of course, it had been Shouko. It made his blood boil. "What do you mean by beat? We're all heroes. We work together, not fight against each other." Ichigo pointed out.

Ikuyo was quick to interject. "She doesn't see heroics as a job to save people. She sees it as a way to scale who's the strongest. Just like Endeavor."

Shouko's stoic look morphed into anger. "You better not compare me to him ever again, or I swear I will-"

Toyo jumped in between the two conflicting teens. "I refuse to have another conflict right now! Both of you either calm down or leave."

For a second, it looked like the three were going to engage in a brawl.

But Shouko's anger faltered.

"Whatever. I don't have time for your ridiculous introductions or your childish arguments. I have too much to work towards to get distracted by you." She growled, walking past the two before leaving the room.

There was a tense silence in the room. No one knew how to break the awkward situation, but Mina sure tried. "What's up with her, right?" She joked, but no one laughed. "O-Oh... Sorry."

Ichigo stood up for a final time. "Well, if it makes this shit-show any better, it was good to meet you all. Now, I need to go unpack my stuff." He explained, excusing himself from the room.

Jesus, what a day it had been.

Now, navigating to the room had been easy, retracing his forced steps from earlier had been simple. But that hadn't been where his problem lied. No, it was that lack of a key that made his groan. Of course he had forgotten to grab one.

"Mmh."

He hadn't expected to be followed. He turned his head. "Oh. Hey Yui."

"Mmh."

"Did you need something?"

She shook her head, showing him the metal piece he had been needing. "Oh. Thanks for that." Grabbing the shard out of her hand, he placed it in the hole and turned it, unlocking it.

"Mmh."

He turned to look at her again. God, she was really pretty. "Did you want to come inside?"

"Mmh."

He opened the door, allowing her access into the room without much care. Not like he had anything to hide. She walked in, her eyes moving across the blank walls. Kinda like her own dorm room.

"Yeah, still haven't unpacked thanks to Ikuyo. I dunno, I like how it looks right now though. Might change the wall color to something more blue."

"Mmh."

He shrugged. "Sure. You can help if you want."

Kneeling down, he ignored the secretly bewildered Yui as he started to undo the straps.

How did he understand her to that level, and without even talking to her once? Itsuka still couldn't tell what she was saying, or more accurately, groaning at times. Must have been a lucky guess.

"No, actually. It wasn't a guess. Telepathy. A really, really weak form of telepathy. I can't speak back to you through it, which is really useless in a real-life situation."

Shit. She would have to watch her thoughts around him.

"Well, you really don't. I was only using it on you so I could understand what you were saying, since you don't speak, anyway."

"Mmh."

Once he had the boxes untethered, he sat the top one down next to the closet. "If you want to help me, you could hang those up. Or just get them out of the box. I appreciate the help either way."

"Mmh."

He widened his eyes. "Oh yeah. You probably need hangers." He brought a box into the bathroom, opening it with ease before he pulled out a handful of the plastic pieces. "Should be enough. You don't have to hang the pants, though. You can just put those in the dresser, or even on top of it."

"Mmh."

He returned to his own box. "Alright then. I'm going to break the link, just so you have your privacy. Tap me on the shoulder if you need anything."

"Mmh."

And they started their monotonous task.

* * *

Unpacking Montage Brought to You By:

Total Command

Written By Epsilon110

(If you haven't read this story, you really should. Probably the best story on this platform or AO3.)

* * *

When they had finished, dusk had arrived. It looked much darker, with the ominous storm clouds looming towards them, but he didn't mind. He had hated rain for the longest time, but that was merely a distant memory. He had come to cherish it as his mother had, so he welcomed the oncoming storm by opening up his northern wall.

"Thanks for helping out. Saved me a little time." Ichigo smirked. "Actually, I probably would've procrastinated doing it until they were all dirty."

"Mmh."

He returned his gaze back to her. "I can help you unpack, just so we're even."

"Mmh."

He rubbed the side of his head as he sighed. He knew he should've gotten here earlier. "Well... I can't do much in the spirit of paying you back. I guess I could cook you something? I'm not the greatest when it comes to making a lot of stuff, but I can make some decent curry."

The offer of food sounded wonderful, but she had eaten a few minutes prior to him arriving. "Mmh."

"I guess I can postpone it until tomorrow. " He obliged, moving to his bed. "So, is there anything else you need from me. Or just want?"

"Mmh."

He shrugged. "Alright." He checked his phone, only to put it down a second after. "I'm gonna take a shower then. You're free to sit in here, if you really want to, that is. I wouldn't know why, but hey. It's your choice." He told her, as he started to browse through the recently stocked closet. He hadn't even picked anything out when an image of himself naked passed through is mind. But the problem was that he wasn't the one who had thought of the image.

His head whipped around to where Yui had been, intent on asking her about the thought, only for her to have disappeared from his room.

'Great. Now I have to deal with the thought that someone has an image of me naked flowing through their head.' He grumbled abashedly, picking out a pair of red-plaid lounging pants, and a black long-sleeve to go with it.

'You act like you, or should I say we, are unattractive to females.' Zangetsu told his wielder as he walked out of the room, key in his pocket.

'No I don't. Shut the hell up.'

'You do, and don't tell me to shut up, Boy'

Ichigo's eyes rolled in his skull, as he turned a corner. 'I have every right to tell you what to do. You still have yet to beat me, if you aren't forgetting.'

'I can't wait to cut down that over-sized ego of yours.'

'Yeah, that'll be the day.'

When their conversation ended, Ichigo was meet with a troubling fact as he came into contact with the showering rooms.

Or should he say, Showering Room.

Singular.

One.

Pluraln't.

And he knew there was only one and that they weren't scattered about because the word UNI-SEX was lettered above the door in a bright red font. He had to swallow every bit of his pride to open the door.

...

...

...

It was empty. He thanked whatever god that had been watching over him for not placing anyone in the room, as well as for placing stalls for a little privacy.

As he set down his clothes and started to discard his dirty ones, only one thought ran through his mind.

'How am I going to beat the ever-living hell out of the designer of this god-forbidden building.'

* * *

(-)

* * *

Heyo! Little bit of filler again. Just an introduction from each character and it gave you a peek at all 21 students of class 1-A.

The next chapter will start with some filler again, but it will lead into the first-day arc thingy.

Oh yeah, also. Do you guys want an official harem list, or do want to be a little more secret.

Leave a review down below, I suppose, and tell me what you think about the chapter.

And Finally:

Beta'd by: Tahaku

Thanks for everything

Latta!


	5. Chapter 4: From Life, Spawns Death

Hey, quick note. Updates are going to be slower from here on out. Hopefully a little longer too. But that isn't saying much, huh.

Anyway, let's move onto reviews.

Shen: When you asked what Ichigo's Zangetsu was like, it is the fused form from his Mugetsu training. I needed a reason for him to only have a single sword, and I didn't want him to only have Juha or Shiro. So, fused it was.

Plus, it makes inner dialogue really fun to write.

Megakdre100: Sure?

Zanka no Tachi 31: Oops, I guess. I mathed it out wrong somewhere then. Thank you, and I will make the modifications needed when the next chapter goes up.

Guest-Questioner: First off, no, actually. I plan for Class 1-B as well as some of the general studies classes, of which I still have to pick, to have a majority of men. And I agree with you that bromance trumps Romance in some moments. I would argue that Bromance is more important than romance in most scenario's actually. That's why I plan for Shinso to eventually migrate into 1-A. I feel like there could be some cool chemistry with him and Ichigo.

Guest 2: Centuries. My bad. Should be fixed as of now.

SomethingAncient: I won't be genderbending all the guys, as I don't think I would be able to pull off a story like that, but there are a few that I have chosen to. I guess for motivation, I would have to point at Total Command for that. He made gender-bent characters more lovable than their originals somehow, so that was my inspiration. And having the ability to have a centerpoint of a character like say Kirishima, and give them your own little quirks (Get it?) and differences, it's what making writing fun. Though again, I couldn't change all of them, so I settled at where I am.

That's all for now, enjoy the chapter.

* * *

(-)

* * *

It would suffice to say that, never before in his life had he showered nervously. At least, not until 30 minutes ago. Having the only shower-room in the facility being uni-sex put him on edge the entire time, so he couldn't exactly relax as he would have liked.

Ah well. College wasn't exactly a comfortable place, he supposed. 'Doesn't mean I should be looking around my shoulder when I'm trying to shower.'

He was able to get out unscathed, no one else showering at such an inconvenient time, which made him sigh in relief. 'You are such an annoying child sometimes. I wouldn't be the end of the world if you were seen naked.'

'Of course, it wouldn't be, but my reputation would plummet if I saw one of my classmates bare without any consent!'

'Sounds like a sorry excuse.'

'Fuck you.'

He cut off their link, tired of the spirit's shitty remarks. He still hadn't seen the dick's face but was sure he would soon. He had been talking more and more about finally kicking his ass, so the promised day was most likely upon him.

When he arrived back to his room, the skyline had gone black while a few blue-ish yellow arcs of electricity banked off the outstretched clouds. It was kind of peaceful, soothing. Even when a surprisingly strong bolt landed barely 200 meters away, he just fell silently onto his bed as the raindrops started to flood his window.

A few minutes passed before he decided that he was going to bed, forgoing dinner for an extra hour of sleep. He could just have a bigger breakfast in the morning if he really needed it. He had already turned the light off and had moved to turn off the bedside lamp.

And with a click, the room fell dark as he slipped silently into sleep.

The rain refused to stop until the next morning, and he really couldn't care less.

* * *

(-)

* * *

Reiko woke up to a homey, delicious scent flowing through the dormitory house, and it was an unfamiliar scent. She wasn't used to food being cooked in her 'home,' the orphanage she had lived in for the entirety of her life being a 'fend for yourself' kind of place. No one cooked anything, and everything they ate was packaged.

She was just glad the unhealthy fat had gone to her sweet spots.

Phasing through the ground, her clothes following which she was extremely thankful for, Reiko landed right in front of the entrance to the large kitchen that had been placed for their convenience. And, poking her head in the doorway, she found the source of the mouthwatering smells.

"You see, if you add mushrooms, then it gives it a little extra punch to the flavor!"

The orange-haired man only groaned. "I'm sure it does, but some people probably don't want everything to taste like fungus."

A rolling pin collided with his head. "Hey! Who knows how to cook here?"

The recipient of the attack groaned. "You. Sorry."

Kinoko smiled. "Good. Now let's move onto the bacon!"

"Yes, Ma'am."

He had to learn very quickly that when mushrooms were involved, Kinoko was a whole different being.

Reiko watched their interactions for a while, any of Ichigo's criticisms being met with blunt force trauma, and it reminded her a little of one of the manga's she read. She blushed lightly, remembering that it had ended with a rather intense, 'love-making' scene.

That could be fun to watch.

"Oh hey, Reiko-chan! Did you want to join us in making breakfast?"

The mushroom enthusiast's invitation was kind, but she didn't think she had the bone structure to handle deadly blows to her head. "No thank you."

Kinoko shrugged as Reiko left the room. "I wonder why she didn't want to help us?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Maybe because she didn't want to be black and blue by the time we finally finish."

This time, he had been hit with a pan. "I'll leave you bloody if you keep that attitude up."

Saliva fell down his throat, creating an audible gulp. "Yes, Ma'am. I'll change it right away."

They worked rather well together, though everything had either been fried with mushrooms, seasoned with mushrooms or baked with, you guessed it, mushrooms. The only thing he had managed to save was the pancakes he had made, instead opting for chocolate as a semi-filling. Everything else had been hit with Kinoko's love for the fungi.

"I think we made enough for now. There should be plenty for everyone today, and probably some leftovers as well." He commented on the mass of food that was stacked on the table as well as the opening bar counter that connected the kitchen to the dining room.

Kinoko smiled. "Yeah! You make a pretty good partner, though I wouldn't mind if you didn't criticize my every choice."

Well, in all honesty, he had just been looking out for the people who didn't like mushrooms, especially with how common they were. He himself didn't mind, but he was sure someone in the building wouldn't.

"Hey! Classes start tomorrow, right?" She asked him, as they moved down the line of foods and filled their plates.

He nodded, putting a piece of bacon into his mouth. "Yeah. It's going to be hell to get through since we got Aizawa." He mumbled through the bacon.

When they started to eat, the smells had made their way up to the highest level of the dorms, and people had started to climb down to the level of the kitchen. "That smells so good! Did you make this, Kinoko?" Eiko asked as she walked into the room.

"Not by myself. This big guy helped with a lot!" Her mouth being full of simmered shrooms, it had been a little hard to understand her.

The red-head looked at him with surprise. "Wow! A guy who can cook is so manly! You should have told me earlier, Ichigo!"

"Eh. Didn't see a reason to bring it up."

With the rest of his classmates flowing in, he made quick work of the plate he had made for himself. He had a lot of free time today, though he was sure most of it was going to be spent training. Maybe Yoruichi would have something new to teach him. Or did he want to train with Kisuke again? So far, the guy was 1:1 on almost killing him, so he probably shouldn't. Then again, Ichigo had gotten the largest power boost he had received thanks to that.

Hmm…

Nah. The gym was fine. Class was tomorrow, and he'd like to make it there in one piece. Placing his dishes in the sink, he parted the curtains that covered the kitchen window as he looked outside. "Nice day out, but still a little wet. I'm guessing I could stay for a good couple of hours." He mumbled to himself, dropping his hand.

"W-Wait, Kurosaki! A-Are you going to train?"

He turned his head, looking back to the speaker. Oh yeah, the short, timid, green-haired girl that had somehow managed to be All-Might's successor. "I got to change first, but yeah. Why?"

She bowed in front of him. "May I come with you, Sir!"

He looked down at her. "Drop the sir, and stop bowing. It's Ichigo, first of all. And second, I don't care. Do what you want."

She listened like a robot. "Yes, okay! I will change to and wait for you here if y-you don't mind?"

He started walking towards his room. "Again, I don't care. Just be ready, cause I don't want to wait."

He heard socked feet running as she practically flew up the stairs, taking his words seriously and going as fast as she could. Jeez. She took his words a little too literal. A few minutes later, and he arrived back at the door in a short-sleeve, white workout tee, a black hoodie, and borderline blackish-gray sweatpants, the bulk of his body covered as he waited with slight irritation for his 'partner' to show up.

"Sorry for making you wait, I-Ichigo! I couldn't pick out what I was going to wear!" Izumi reappeared at the platform that transitioned the direction of the stairs wearing black yoga pants and a matching tank-top over her sports bra.

"Whatever. Just, let's go before anyone else decides they want to come."

They walked out of the building and out of the UA Wall without saying a word. Probably cause Izumi thought he was mad at her, and he wasn't into small talk. Either way, he was the one who broke the silence. "So. Why the hell did you want to come along with me?" He almost demanded in his usual, pissed off sounding voice.

She let out an 'eep' at the question. "Just c-cause you s-seemed nice I guess?"

He gave a disbelieving snort. "That's bull-shit. People don't exactly 'perceive' me as nice, so give me a real reason. Well, I think I already know, if I'm being honest. Still, it'd be nice to know for sure."

He could tell that her eyes were glued to his back. "W-What do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'm betting it has something to do with Toshinori."

She sputtered, as they continued to walk. "H-H-How do you know that name?"

"Doesn't matter how, it just matters that I do know. Now tell me, was I right or wrong?"

Izumi looked down at the ground. "He told me that you had been training for a long time and that I could learn from you while he wasn't around. And I wasn't lying, because he also said that you were really nice and considerate, even if you don't show it."

So the fucker was giving him his student? He was going to receive quite the text later. "Sounds about right. The guy really shouldn't be the one training you, but neither should I. Maybe I could get you a half-decent trainer though. Not right now, but eventually sometime soon."

She smiled hopefully. "You mean that? I mean, I like All-Might a lot, but you'll really will find someone better than him?"

Her joy was a little contagious. "I have someone in mind already. It just might take a while to set up."

She started to cheer silently, which made him smirk.

'I wonder how Yoruichi will act when I tell her she's got another student, and All-Might's successor no less.'

When they reached the gym, he had to pay for Izumi to get in since his membership was one-person only and she forgot her wallet, to which she apologized profusely for not paying for herself. He waved her off, saying that it wasn't a big deal as he led her to the workout room that came with the subscription.

"I guess the first thing to do is stretch, though I'm sure you have your own set. This isn't usually what I do, so I'll just follow your regimen for now and see what kinks I could work out of it."

She nodded, and they took a seat on the floor. "I usually start with the really simple stretches and m-move from there."

Stretching? Kinda boring, but whatever. He had enough mind to oblige to her suggestion.

Break.

"After stretching, I go ahead and run for about 30 minutes, though it was usually in the sand. W-we can do as long as you want." Izumi explained as they walked out of the private room.

Shaking his head, he stopped her from going further. "I guess with how your quirk works, you need to get more muscle mass to support the power you will be using. Cardio won't help much with building that. So, I say cut that out of your gym workouts and spend more time building your muscles. And all of them, at that. You never want one muscle group to completely outshine the others." He pointed out, Izumi looking at him with childish curiosity. "Anyway, most of your cardio will come with the more combat-focused training, whether it be me, your possibly new teacher, or just anyone. Hopefully, they put up enough of a fight so that the 'battle' is dragged on long enough."

Sitting down on a bench press machine, he continued to elaborate. "I rarely train…" He didn't like how that sounded. "Well actually, I wouldn't even call it training here. Working out describes it best, but anyway, I don't usually come here. Dojo's, boxing gyms, all the stuff that is a little more combat orientated is a lot better for becoming a hero. It works most muscle groups and gives you a little more hands-on experience."

Wow. Where the hell did all that come from? Maybe he should take up a second job as a personal trainer…

Just kidding. He was too much of a dick for that.

"That's really good advice, I think. I'll h-have to do a little more research on that later."

He nodded in agreement. "Not a bad idea. And, I guess for a final tip, if you do decide to go to a gym, make sure it's one that acclimates for quirks. If you don't, the weight limit is going to be a little to low. I know, because it was hard to find a gym around my house that had 1-ton plates."

Izumi hummed to herself. For a guy she thought that would constantly berate her, he seemed to be a pretty level headed guy.

Maybe she could get used to training with him.

* * *

In an unnamed bar on the outskirts of Musutafu City.

* * *

"Kurogiri. How's the recruiting process going?"

The question came from a hoarse, decayed, and almost wicked voice.

Black, wispy flames shifted about, as the person who the question was directed to grabbed another dirty glass. "Rather poorly, if you ask me. Almost all of those who have signed up have been low street thugs." His own incredibly deep responded in kind.

"Dammit. I was hoping for at least a few high-level players to show their face." The decayed voice cursed, his grip tightening on his glass while making sure to keep his pinkie off.

There was a deep chuckle. "Oh. You must have misheard me. I said 'most' of the people, not all. There was one in particular that seemed rather… bloodthirsty, and he had the means to back it up as well. I have never seen such a versatile quirk before, not including Sensei's of course."

His grip on the glass was loosened. "Oh? I do hope you will tell me a little more about this man."

The wisp gave its version of shaking its head, their bright yellow eyes moving from side to side. "There is no need to. I told him to meet here within… Oh! The next hour!"

Cracked lips gave a demented smile. "I do hope he manages to live up to my expectations because having a mini-boss would fit perfect for my plan!"

It would have been frightful to most to see that what could be a slaughter was being played down to a little more than a video game.

Tomura only saw it as a little more fun to stir the pot.

* * *

(-)

* * *

Minoru Mineta was known for being jealous. 'Course, it wasn't unfair given his unchangeable height and stature, but he was overly so. Maybe because he felt like he was owed everything, that he was smooth and should be able to get his way. It never turned out that way for him though, as being shot down had become a daily occurrence.

In spite of all this, he had never been as envious before as he was now. Not even close. 'That lucky piece of shit!'

He scanned over the list of names for the umpteenth time. 'He managed to get into a class with only girls! He must have some connections or something, 'cause there's no way he got a higher score me! I placed 16 in the exams, and there wasn't a single guy above that!'

With a grumble, he tossed his phone onto the table in front of him. "Ichigo Kurosaki. You better watch your ass, because I'm here to nab that spot right from beneath your feet."

* * *

Why the hell was he shivering? He had just finished the final rep of his workout and he was sweating his ass off. Shivering should be impossible.

Oh well. It had been a good 3 hours since they had arrived at the gym, and he was too hungry to pay attention to it any further. 'I should probably get Izumi something to eat as well. I don't think she had any time to eat breakfast.' He looked around his spot, spotting the long green fluffy hair that stuck above all the machines.

"Izumi. Are you ready to go?" He asked, draping his towel over his left shoulder as he rounded the corner.

The shy girl nodded. "Y-Yeah… I think so."

He threw a second towel at her face. "Good, then follow me. We're getting something to eat."

She wiped the sweat off her face with the towel that was thrown at her. "O-Okay."

She followed him as they navigated out of the maze-like building, Ichigo leading them out relatively quickly as he eyed the many restaurants that were placed around the city square. "Do you have a specific preference for food?"

"Hmm?" She looked up at him as she processed his question. "O-Oh! Yeah, I uh… really like katsudon if you know a place that serves it. I-If not, it's fine!"

Katsudon, huh? He remembered a place nearby that served it, and it was pretty high quality for its price. "Alright then. Should be a place around the corner that serves it."

She shuffled behind him as he continued to lead the way, passing by a number of different shops and cafes before moving to enter a smaller, family-owned restaurant. He stopped abruptly when he realized the clothing or lack thereof, she had been adorning. "Take this. I don't think you want to enter this place in what you have on right now."

Another article of clothing hit her face. It had been a hoodie this time, and she looked at him confusingly before she remembered that all she had to cover her top-half was a tank top. And it was then that she resembled his own namesake. "Th-Th-Thank you!" She squealed in an even higher-pitched voice.

"Mmh."

When she had the incredibly oversized jacket on, they entered the store, a small bell chiming as they did. "Welcome to Akiwasa Cafe! It's nice to see you again Kurosaki!"

Ichigo raised his hand in a lazy wave as the found an empty table, not being very difficult since today was a slow business day. That being said, they were quickly met with a waiter bringing both a glass of water as well as two menus. After a short monologue, he left them alone as they chose what to order. "There's two types of katsudon here. If I remember it right anyway. I personally don't have a preference, cause they make it good either way."

She looked intently at the menu. "I don't think I've had shōyu-dare katsudon before." She mumbled to herself, browsing intensely.

"Get whatever. I don't care all that much."

When the waiter returned, Izumi ordered the shōyu-dare katsudon as he thought she would, followed by Vanilla Ice-cream topped with shredded Mochi. A bit much for him, but she seemed content with her choice.

He went with a simple udon soup and didn't follow it with anything else. However, he made sure he got it in the largest serving possible. "Alright then! We'll be out with your orders when they're ready!"

He nodded his thanks as the waiter left them once more.

With nothing else to do, he stared blankly out the window, watching people walk by as he spectated the park that sat across the street. There were kids at the small playset the was set in the middle and they couldn't have been over 7 years old, yet they were still from what he could tell, playing heroes and villains. It hurt him to think about how sheltered they were, innocent towards the dark intentions of true villains. It hurt even more to think that it wouldn't last.

"Why did you want to become a hero, Ichigo?"

Resting his head on his chin, he continued to observe as if she hadn't spoken to him her mouth opened to ask him again, but there was no need. "There are many reasons why. I have a legacy to fulfill for one, but that probably pushes me forward the least. It's a way to make a living as well, but I don't care much for that. I kinda fit right into the job as well, given my quirk, so there's that too. But, if you were to ask for the main driving force, I guess you could say it is that."

He pointed out the window. "If we didn't have heroes, children wouldn't be able to grow up like that. Innocence would be scarce, and I've got two little sisters who I was unable to shield from that world. So, I guess, I want to be a hero to take the burden off of others. To allow kids to grow up as they should. So that people won't have to worry about facing tragedy. To save people who need saving."

He turned his gaze onto her. "That's what being a hero is about, right?"

Izumi stared at him with an enigmatic wonder, one that scared him a little. She had been expecting a more simple answer, like wealth or fame or just to be a hero, yet he had managed to put into words the feeling she could never describe, even with the most filled of dictionaries.

He truly was an enigma. Toshinori had been right about that.

"Alright then. I have the katsudon for the lady…" A new waiter had stopped at their table, holding a tray that held their orders as he set said meal in front of Izumi. "Then the udon soup for you, and the ice-cream!" He finished, emptying his tray. "Now, will that be everything for tonight?"

Ichigo looked at Izumi for confirmation, receiving it in the form of a nod. "Yeah. Should be all of it."

The waiter smiled. "Alrighty! I'll be back with the order payment!"

By the time Ichigo had grabbed his fork, Izumi had already dug into her meal, a good four or five bites missing from her bowl. "Thish ish sho good!" She slurred with a euphoric smile, with the missing bites being found inside her mouth.

"Mmh." He took a bite of his udon. Ooh. A little warm, but still good.

Their conversation was replaced by the clinking of silverware on their porcelain bowls, as they calmly, or should he say, he calmly ate his meal, as Izumi was a little more rapid and greedy with her bites.

'Huh. I guess she really likes her katsudon.'

When they finished, Izumi got her ice-cream to go, the waiter placing the frozen cream onto an edible cone that she brought with her as they walked out. Their pace was slow, Ichigo wanting to be lax before the start of the never-ending chaos that was college. With that being said, it took them 15 minutes to return to UA, something that could've been achieved in less than five.

It would be accurate to say that he hadn't minded.

* * *

(-)

* * *

A little shorter than usual. Kinda wanted a little filler before the first-day arc, which is coming next.

Sorry about the lack of significance.

Latta!


	6. Chapter 5: T'is but a cycle

'Okay. I understand that UA is rolling in it, but why in the hell is this door so god damn big?'

_'Students come in many sizes. It's better if it's too big rather than too small.'_

Ichigo shrugged, still eyeing the 14-foot wooden door. 'I guess it makes it hard to miss as well.' He chuckled, signaling towards the bright and big red lettering on the wood.

To his surprise, the door opened quite easily, contradicting his guess of a more difficult task. He immediately noted that the bright yellow sleeping bag that moved around his old home, was sitting behind the podium, out of sight of everyone else. He resisted the urge to face-palm "Could you really not spend 8 hours without trying to nap?" The bag shifted. "Whatever. Just don't let this become a habit here too."

Momo, who had been observing his conversation while lacking the knowledge of the hidden teacher. "Kurosaki…may I ask who are you talking to?"

He shook his head dismissively as he walked over to one of the desks at the far left of the room. "It was no one. Sorry about that."

Nodding hesitantly, she slowly returned to her book while making a note of his ridiculous tendencies.

As a few minutes passed, the room gradually filled with the rest of his classmates, with the bulk coming in groups or pairs while a few came in on their own. Without any seating arrangement, they all sat next to their own little group, himself included with Ikuyo behind him, Izumi on his right with her friends in front and behind her, and Kinoko in front of him. Not the worst seating for now, and they had a little time to mingle among themselves.

That was all halted when Shiho lifted herself off the floor and made herself visible behind the podium. It was a little odd, seeing as only her face was shown through the yellow sleeping bag. After the socialization slowed down rather abruptly, she finally spoke. "It took you lot 4 seconds to shut up. Better than I had expected, but we should have that down to a second by the end of the year." She announced. "I suppose I should start with an introduction, only rational."

Unzipping the yellow bag, she slipped out and continued. "My names Shiho Aizawa, and I will be your homeroom teacher from now on. You will see me throughout your Heroics Classes, as well as the start of the day. Welcome to Class 1-A."

Ichigo was a little surprised. It seemed like Shiho ran a semi-normal class. That's not what he had been told she did. "Now. Put these on and get out onto Training Ground Alpha."

Fuck. Of course he jinxed it.

* * *

(-)

* * *

When he left the men's room, he had one thought on his mind. 'At least Nozomi isn't ignorant of the fact that not everyone is tolerant of her shit.'

He felt Zangetsu smile mirthfully. _'Well, you know she has quite a bit of fun screwing with us, so I'm guessing that the uni-sex is pretty well isolated to our dorms.'_

'You're probably right. The rat isn't dumb in any means.' He hummed. 'By the way, can you tell if Kisuke's fixed you up yet?'

_'I think so. I'm feeling much less strain talking to you, so I'm guessing that's a good sign.'_ The spirit replied as Ichigo emerged onto the training grounds.

He had arrived last out of the class, probably because of the inconvenient placement of the changing room, but it had the plus side of there being no delay between when he arrived and when the main attraction started. "Good. Now that everyone is here, we can start with our tests."

Ochako spoke up before anything happened. "But… what about the speech thingy, and the Orientation Meetings?" She asked, as she was clearly looking forward to the two.

"Waste of time. They're just there to tell you things you should already know. I've tried to get them to end those irrational meetings." Her remark was quick to shut any other objections. "Now, as I said, we are going to be doing a series of tests. But...I suppose a demonstration is in order…" Shiho kneeled down, grabbing a conveniently, prepositioned baseball, along with a small holographic device.

"Kurosaki, get in the circle."

Well, if he knew her at all, he could see where this was going. So, with a small groan, he walked into the small white circle. "Take this ball, and throw it as far as you can without stepping outside of the circle. Using your quirk." Oh. Fun. "And don't hold back, use any means possible to get it as far out there as you can."

Looking at her for confirmation, he received a nod before he turned back around. 'Well, I guess I'll give it my best shot. I just, uh… hope the windows can handle it.'

'I'm gonna be honest. They aren't.'

'Yeah, I could've guessed.'

He cocked his arm back, releasing the pinched spiritual flow in his arm and legs as he prepared his throw. He could feel his muscular structure relaxing as the energy took control. It always felt calming when he let it go on its own, but the surrounding aura it created put a limit on the time he could use it. Even now, he saw everyone around him start to sweat under the pressure. 'Shit. Better do this quick.'

It was then, that he released the building strain, and his whole body lurched forward as he propelled the ball..and the second the ball left his fingertips, the whole world shook as it rocketed through the sky at ludicrous speeds. Not one, but three sonic booms sounded off in that instant, shattering the surrounding glass windows as it left eyesight. It probably would've been best to have warned them of such a blast, because he heard a cry of pain come from the crowd.

The yell hade belonged to none other than Kyoka Jirou, recoiling along with the rest of her classmates, covering her hypersensitive ears as she really wished she had brought some sort of noise-canceling headphones.

By the time the dust had settled, his ball had landed at its final stop with the device held in Aizawa's hand giving a finishing beep. 'Hey, dumbass. You might want to control your spiritual pressure now.' Zangetsu reminded him of his suffering classmates.

'Oh, yeah.'

As he cut off the flow, Shiho announced his score. "5,175.4 meters and a wall of broken glass. Not one for control are you, Kurosaki?" He smirked at her little, non-offensive jab. "As you can see, these are meant to test the limits of your capabilities, using your quirk in whatever way you want as long as you stay within the parameters. It's only rational to let you use them because they are a part of you and it's what you'll be using to save people in need. Welcome to the Quirked Assessment Test!"

Mina, who had been one of the first to recover, gave a half-hearted cheer. "Hey… This could actually be pretty fun!"

Her invisible friend backed her up. "Yeah, all though mine won't help very much. It'll still be cool to see what everyone can do!"

At their words, a devilish glint shone bright in the hero's eyes. "Fun? Cool? I'll do something cool then." Goddamnit Mina. "Whoever places last… will be expelled from the school. Immediately."

Expelled huh? Well, at least he didn't have much to worry about. He was quite confident in his skills, but he couldn't say the same for the people he had made acquaintances with. "E-Expulsion?! That is unreasonable for the first day, Mrs. Aizawa!" Toyo argued, attempting to have her teacher retract such a claim.

"Unreasonable. Villains aren't exactly reasonable when they break the law. They aren't reasonable when they fight heroes. Are they reasonable when they kill people, people who are important to hundreds of others? No, so I see no reason to do so here. Welcome to the U.A, home of the world's greatest heroes. It was the ruthlessness of the teaching that pushed them to where they are now. You of all people should know that, Iida."

It was a little hard to argue against that.

Test 1: 50-meter dash

There were few people of interest in the small race. Flash-step got him a time under a second, 0.0209 to be exact, which ended up being the fastest out of all the scores. In second was Toyo, who clocked in at a time of 1.423 seconds, only about a full second slower than his own.

"How do you accelerate to such a high speed in such a short time? That's unbelievable!" She told him, being one of the few to truly comprehend such speed.

"I really don't know all that much myself. It's just an ability of my quirk, I guess. It sucks because it only comes in short bursts instead of a more steady constant speed like yours." He remarked.

With an affirmative nod, she commented further. "It is still rather impressive, seeing as there are no physical downsides. My Recipro-Burst has trouble reaching such speeds, and it ends up stalling my engines afterward."

They talked about the limitations of their quirks throughout the rest of the tests, with there being two more impressive scores, the first of which being by Katsuyumi who managed a time of 3.182 and Ikuyo with one of 3.784. He congratulated his friend on her score, only to somehow end up carrying her on his shoulders for the remainder of the test, due to her legs being 'tired.'

He would attest to not liking the experience, but his sword knew he secretly enjoyed the feeling of her thighs on both sides of his head. Sue him, he was a hormonal 18-year-old.

Test 2: Grip strength

Once more, it wasn't difficult for him to reach a highly above average score, sitting right under the 1-ton mark at 985.7 kilograms. This time, however, there was a decent amount of impressive scores. He had only been beaten by Momo, who created a mechanical clamp that crushed the gripping device under its hydraulic pressure, to which Aizawa counted it as 30 tons just in case, but there were many that didn't trail far behind his.

Eiko got an admirable score of 457.4, followed by Ibara Shiozaki at 395.2 and many others. He was impressed when Izumi held her own, with a grip strength of 211.7.

There was a lot less conversing this time around, but it was whatever. They moved onto the next event pretty quickly.

Test 3: Flexibility

He managed to place last, though he still did a little better than he had assumed he would do. Ichigo wasn't mad at himself either, although maybe a little disappointed. He knew he wasn't the most flexible body-wise, and going against a myriad of females, it was only natural.

He was just surprised to see just how far they could bend themselves, especially Mina. She might as well have been made out of rubber with how far she could bend forward.

Test 4: Bench-Press

With all the things that he'd seen Yaoyorozu had make, he had expected for them to stay in the realm of simplicity. A bike isn't too complex, only being a basic wheel and gear system with a seat. The mechanical clamp was a little more advanced but still simple. So, when she created a hydraulic press, or really a hydraulic lift on both sides of the bar, allowing her to lift more than the girl who could cancel gravity? He was quick to admit he had underestimated her.

She took a far lead at over 50 tons, gargantuan compared to Uraraka's 20 tons, his 14, and finally, Neiko's 10-ton score after borrowing Uraraka's quirk. All in all, their class averaged higher than most middle-class pros.

'I guess outliers will do that to a median.'

Test 5: Endurance Run

Honestly, his opinion of this one was just a waste of time. They all managed to run for over 30 minutes, including Kinoko who had legs that barely measured over a foot long. Even Shiho was a little disappointed in herself.

Test 6: Long Jump

His flash-stepping, or more accurately, Shunpo ability came in handy, allowing him to walk through the air and across the pale, sandy pit. Practically everyone managed to cross it, with a few exceptions like Toru, Eiko, and Izumi reaching a little more than halfway. Once more, a rather boring test.

'Hey, Zangetsu. Remind me to help Shiho come up with better tests.'

_'I'm not the damn reminder app on your phone, but I do agree to the need for more engaging tests.'_

Test 7: High-Speed Crunches

The concept of the test was extremely simple. Do as many crunches as possible in the span of a minute. The execution he saw, however, was a little less than chaotic. Yaoyorozu created a spring pad for herself, bouncing her back up whenever she touched the ground. Shouko created a patch of ice to raise the level of the ground. Katsuyumi placed her arms in a position that allowed her blasts to boost her up to her knees, at the cost of the underlying earth. And with Ikuyo's wind swirling about, it was practically a battle of the natural forces.

It was unnerving to see the destruction these people could cause without even trying, but then again, he had blasted a crater around his whole body on the verge of exhaustion just to summon a sword spirit, so who was he to talk.

Final Test: The Ball Throw

Apparently, because of his previous destruction of the glass panes placed around them, he wasn't able to take the test again. Not that he needed to anyway, as he put about as much as he could into chucking that thing as far as he could. Still, it kinda sucked to miss out on the final event.

Either way, the first person who was set up in the circle was Tokage Setsuna, someone he hadn't been paying much attention to. However, when her hand removed itself from the rest of her body, his attention was captured once more. He almost forgot how unique her quirk was. After her separated hand latched onto the base-ball, it flew away like an RC Helicopter and left their eye-sight. After a short waiting period of about a minute, her hand returned at a speed much faster than it had left, and they awaited Aizawa's words.

"2,045.6 meters. Way to think outside of the box, Setsuna."

Hmm. Very impressive use of her quirk, he had to give her that. He wouldn't have thought of that.

Next was the rather upbeat Eiko, who stepped up to the plate with a skip even though her quirk probably wouldn't benefit her much. She didn't let that get to her, as the second her foot entered the circle, her body as a whole became hard as a stone. Wait, did that increase her muscular strength? It probably did, based on the score she got during both the Grip-Strength and the Bench-Press tests. But, hadn't she said her quirk was just Hardening? Ichigo didn't think it made much sense, but at the same time, it did?

Well, I guess he could ask her about it later. For now, she had a ball to throw.

Studying the arm that held the small sphere as she brought it into throwing position, he noticed that the edges were highly numerous and more jagged compared to the rest of her body. Maybe her strength scaled with the durability of her hardened body. Whatever the case, when she threw the ball, nothing much happened in the sense of their surroundings, but the object did go out farther than any normal base-ball throw, and by a wide margin too.

"454.0 meters. Well done." Eiko flashed a criminally cute grin, one that showed of her rows of sharp teeth as she walked back into the masses. He would've attempted to stir up some kind of conversation, but he was sure Shiho would get pissed if he did. The atmosphere was much too tense.

Anyways, he was looking forward to the next throw, because it was Ikuyo's turn. If he were to guess, she would come up with something to get the ball at least a thousand meters out. Her quirk wasn't very practical when it came to sending things flying, but hey. He knew she would think of something.

He watched as the wind swirled downwards, compressing the air into an orb above her hand as she walked into the circle. Ikuyo picked up the ball with her free hand, allowing for the air to continue compressing for a few seconds longer. When the wind-tunnel stopped, ending the flow of air into the compressed sphere, Ikuyo threw the ball up with a flick of her wrist and let the balls collide. "Pneumatic Beam!" She yelled, though it was barely audible as the winds blasted out of the orb at hundreds of meters per second, bringing the ball with them.

_'That reminds me of a Soukatsui. A concentrated blast that can be used both close range as well as at a distance.'_

'I can see that, actually. It probably won't burn through flesh like the real thing, so it's definitely useable against others as long as she keeps the pressure reasonable.'

They heard the finishing beep of the machine, and turned to Aizawa to hear the distance she had achieved. "2,102.1."

Ikuyo cheered with delight, getting a small frown from Aizawa. "I told you I'd beat you, Tokage-chan!"

He gave a roll of the eyes. Of course she had managed to start some kind of competition. He had realized over the course of the past month, that Ikuyo was competitive beyond his imagination. That was just her personality, but it got a little silly when she started challenging him to see who could eat the fastest.

"Katsuyumi Bakugo. You're up next."

From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a devilish grin growing on the blonde's face. "Alright! Finally, someone can show these weaklings how it's done!" She remarked, strutting up to the circle.

He could say safely that 5,000 meters wasn't weak, but alright. He wanted to see what she had to offer, so he settled with the deepening of his frown and a small growl.

"What and learn, Dweebs!"

He could hear the crackling of her palms before she picked up the ball, small white sparks finding their way out of her pores. Really, he was impressed with how much her quirk reflected her personality. She seemed to be the practical definition for 'Explosive.'

Now, focusing back onto her throw, she was unique in that she had basically no wind up in the execution of her quirk. She had picked up the ball, got in position, and was already moving her arm back to throw it. "Nuclear Fissure!"

It was easy to assume that her score was going to be quite monstrous, seeing that the blast had shot the ball at speeds nearly surpassing his own. The only problem was that she had also shredded said ball, getting rid of any shred of aeronautical elegance. It didn't take away from her display, but it would take away from her score. It was a shame because it really was impressive.

"4,041.8 meters."

He found her cocky smirk cute, as she strode back to the group with her chin held high. It was also a little funny, seeing as she was also shorter than 75 percent of the class. "Let's see someone beat that!" She chirped.

"That was really manly, but Kurosaki beat you by over a thousand meters."

..

..

..

Katsuyumi looked like a cat that had its tail stepped on, and quickly became flushed as she tried to recover. "Well...let's see anyone who isn't the strawberry beat that!"

"Shut up. Izumi Midoriya, it's your turn."

Uh-Oh. That was some real venom coming from Shiho, no matter how much she tried to hide it. Was there something he didn't know about the girl? He would probably have to wait and see, or maybe even ask Toshinori about it.

'Shiho seems to have something planned. That girl better have a strong will on her, otherwise this won't end well.'

_'Toshinori chose her, so it is probable that she does. Then again, it was Toshinori.'_

She seemed troubled and meek when she moved into the circle, hunched over almost as if she wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear out of sight. Not a good sign, but hey. The heat of the moment could change anyone.

She picked up the ball with a shaky hand, clutching it to her chest as she stared out towards where she would throw the globe. A worried frown sat on her face for a short second, as if she was calculating something, before she stepped into a pitchers stance. 'Ah. She knows how to maximize her speed and distance. She's intuitive, I can give her that.

'Intuition isn't shit if you don't have the confidence to back it up.'

'You really are too vulgar, boy.'

'I only take after you, Mr. Part of Me.'

When he saw Izumi throw the ball, he had expected a blast of some sort. Something that would match being All-Might's Successor. It never came, as the ball landed with a sad thud within a flash-step's distance.

"W-Wait! But I thought I used at least 1 p-percent! It should've g-gone further!" She said, almost breaking down as she muttered her qualms with such a score.

He knew the cause of her problems, and she was quick to speak up. "I erased your quirk. Not permanently, mind you. I just have a problem with how you've been taking these tests."

Yeah, that made a little more sense. Shiho wouldn't get pissed for no reason. "Your test scores have been mediocre. You haven't shown any of the same level of power as you did during the exam, which is disappointing. Your quirk is the definition of a glass cannon, you get one good punch, and someone has to save you. I refuse to let someone like that into this class. A powerful quirk without any sense of control is a liability, and this world can't have that in it. You have a heroic spirit kid, but this course isn't made for everyone. People aren't equal, I'm sorry." Aizawa's eyes returned to their inactive state, and her hair fell back down. "I returned your quirk. Finish this test and be done with it."

Damn. He felt terrible now, knowing that she would probably be expelled, even though she was faring relatively well in the events. He hadn't even know what she was talking about in terms of her full power, but she explained it broke her bones. He swore he saw tears starting to gather in Izumi's eyes, but she turned away too fast for him to confirm it. She stood there in silence for a minute, to which he assumed she had given up. He wasn't sure how the successor would thrive from there, but he would be willing to help if he could.

After all, the world needed a pillar after All-Might was gone.

It was almost as if she had heard him, because her posture straightened as she resumed her pitchers stance. Her foot shifted behind her, and arm shrunk back into spring as she readied herself.

"Finally someone put that quirkless trash in their place." Katsuyumi sneered. "Just wrap it up and get this over with."

It was in the next moments, as Izumi threw the ball, that Katsuyumi was corrected for a second time.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

Two loud booms sounded off with one being infinitely louder than the other, the first and loudest blaring as the ball left contact with her hand and broke her finger, and the second when it broke the sound barrier.

And, he had to say, damn did it go far.

She had instinctively clutched her hand to her chest, her index finger cleared disfigured and torn, yet she showed off her ability to continue fighting by clenching her fists. "...I can still move my body!" She rebutted the claim of being a liability, which brought his attention back to his mother.

She must have been surprised and impressed, because she was doing her best to hide any emotion behind an evil, yet fake smile. "This kid!"

It was an exciting moment for almost everyone in the class, as those who had seen her power got a grasp of her control, and those who didn't got quite the debut. Even All-Might, who had thought he had kept himself hidden, was cheering for her.

However, the short blonde who had thrown her own ball minutes prior, was biting her lip as to not lash out at the green haired woman. It seemed she did have some semblance of self-control, at least in front of her superiors.

"Hey! What distance did she get?"

Oh yeah. That was probably a little important. "3,978.2 Meters. Izumi Midoriya, you have managed to impress me." Shiho was genuine in her compliment, before realizing that her student was exhausted and her finger was about to practically fall off.

"Oh yeah... Kurosaki, take her to Recovery Girl and get that hand fixed. Just make sure to get back here before we're finished."

Once more he was called upon by his mother, something that he couldn't blame her for at the moment since she had no clue who most of her students were, but it would have to become less common as the year went on. "Yeah yeah." He signalled for Izumi to trail behind him. "Follow me. Let's get you fixed before that thing falls off."

It took her a moment, still rather tired and in slight shock at her control, but when she realized she was talking to him, Izumi nodded slowly. "Right…"

Damn it. This was going to be a long walk.

* * *

(-)

* * *

"I swear, that after that knucklehead father of yours retired, I thought I would have an easier job. Of course, both of them got some kind of prodigy who has the same reckless attitudes, and make it all the harder on me."

*MWAH*

The old woman, dressed in a nurses outfit, placed a kiss onto her patient's head and instantly healed the destroyed finger. It was unsettling to watch, he had to admit. At least the outcome was as expected.

"Alright. That should be all, from what I could tell. Your body is healed, and you're good to go. I don't want to be seeing you in here again until the sports festival."

The greenette lazily shook her head in acknowledgment, attempting to stand up only for her legs to crumble in exhaustion. She was lucky to fall into the body of an unsuspecting Ichigo, who had been ready to get back to their teacher and see where he placed. Of course, a tired, limp classmate complicated that, and they needed to get back soon.

"Woah, hey. Are you alright?" He asked as she leaned against him.

Recovery Girl gave a small snicker. "Oh, she's quite alright. She was already exhausted, and she isn't used to the drawback like your reckless self. I'm going to advise that she doesn't walk for now."

He looked to her for help. "Do you have a wheelchair or something?"

Another sly, nearing devilish chuckle. "Only a stubborn, orange-haired mule."

If he had more time, he would've given her some sort of a comeback, but for now, he set it aside for later and hoisted his classmate onto his back. "You better remember that stubborn people hold grudges for a long ass time."

He managed to avoid the cane swing that irrepressibly came with his vulgarities, Izumi's head resting comfortably on his shoulder as he carried her out of the office. "...Sorry for making you do this…" She slurred out, as he paced through the hallways.

"It's whatever. I can't exactly fault you for doing everything you could to keep your goals alive."

She hummed into his back. He was surprisingly warm, lulling her to sleep even through several layers of cloth. It reminded her of her family's trips to the park, back when her father hadn't divorced her mother. She would always end up being too tired to walk, and her mother would end up carrying her on her back.

Damn, she really did need something to focus on, otherwise, she would end up falling asleep. Maybe she could get him to talk to her about himself. "Ichigo…how do you know the staff here so well?"

He repositioned her on his back, his hands getting a better grip on her thighs as to keep her from slipping. "Really, it's a mix of a lot of things. My mother was involved in the raid that saved the principal from captivity, so I know her rather well. Then, my father was a hero at the same time as most of the staff, so he's good friends with all of them. Finally, Recovery Girl has had to heal me hundreds of times in the past, so I see her often."

Izumi's eyes widened, the talk of heroes giving her a small burst of energy. "Wait! I knew your father was a hero, but who's your mother?"

She waited a moment for a response. "I doubt you'd know her. She's been dead for about ten years."

Izumi felt the need to recoil, wincing as he informed her of such a demise. "Oh...sorry for bringing it up…"

"Forget it. You didn't mean anything by it." He replied, but she didn't poke any further just in case.

Izumi sighed to herself. 'Well. That was a way to unintentionally kill a conversation.'

* * *

(-)

* * *

When the two returned, their rankings along with their classmate's were being displayed on a holographic projection, a sure sign that they were late. He could already see his mother waiting on them impatiently, leaning against the wall with her head buried in her scarf. "Way to take your time. I already had to reveal that I wasn't expelling anyone."

Izumi noticed a tick mark find its home on his forehead. "Well I wouldn't have had to go through this whole escapade if you didn't make her believe that she had to break her finger to stay in UA."

Aizawa gave a venomous chuckle. "Shut up and look at your scores, problem child."

"Thanks, I was already planning on it."

He carried Izumi away from their conversation, remembering it would be best not to blow their cover as mother and son, and was quick to bring her attention to the board.

"Oh wow… Ichigo, you got first place…"

He looked onto the scorings, to check if it were true.

1st Place: Ichigo Kurosaki

2nd Place: Momo Yaoyorozu

3rd Place: Ikuyo Yoarashi

4th Place: Katsuyumi Bakugo

5th Place: Shouko Todoroki

6th Place: Eiko Kirishima

7th Place: Tokage Setsuna

8th Place: Pony Tsunotori

9th Place: Ibara Shiozaki

10th Place: Toyo Iida

11th Place: Ochako Uraraka

12th Place: Tsuyu Asui

13th Place: Reiko Yanagi

14th Place: Neiko Monoma

15th Place: Itsuka Kendo

16th Place: Izumi Midoriya

17th Place: Hana Sero

18th Place: Mina Ashido

19th Place: Kinoko Komori

20th Place: Yui Kodai

21st Place: Toru Hagakure

Sure enough, he was placed at the top of the ranks. He could settle for that, he supposed. "Right, now that everyone is here, I am allowed to dismiss you all. As I said earlier, I will not be expelling any of you today. It was just a rouse to get you all to try your hardest. That will be all. Return your gym outfits to the laundry room, and I will see you in class tomorrow."

Shiho was quick to leave, probably to go sleep somewhere, leaving him to carry his weary classmate back to the dorms. Luckily, there was no real classes for that day, so she wouldn't have to try and stay awake throughout something like English or Math.

He could just take her back to the dorms, simple and easy.

Just how he liked it.

* * *

(-)

* * *

Well, he had thought it would've been simple, anyway. But of course, life refused to let him have it easy for once because Izumi had fallen asleep on his back. It didn't sound like a problem, but he didn't know where she put her keycard, so he couldn't get into her room, and he refused to wake her up, seeing as she was physically exhausted to the point of passing out.

So, he had to make a choice of bringing her into his room and allowing her to sleep on his bed since all other options involved waking her up.

And that all lead up to the current moment, where he was sitting in his room, watching a rather cute girl sleep on his bed.

Well, he probably should leave. If she woke up to him silently observing her, he could probably say goodbye to any further friendships, and his dignity.

He could go for some dinner anyway, so to the kitchen he went...After changing into more casual clothes, choosing a white sweatshirt and grey sweatpants to lounge around in.

It was surprising to see how empty the commons were, only being occupied by Yoarashi and Mina, though he also was sure that Hagakure was there somewhere as well. He didn't have time to ponder on it, as a gentle, enticing scent brought his attention back to his hunger.

'It doesn't smell like mushrooms, so I doubt it's Kinoko… I wonder how many of these girls know how to cook.'

Upon entering the kitchen, he was surprised to see that it was in fact, the explosive Katsuyumi who was making such an appetizing dish. "Huh. Didn't think you would be the kind of person to take up cooking." He took a spot next to her, watching as she rather gracefully prepared the meal.

"Shut up, Strawberry." She muttered with relative control, seemingly focused on her task. "If you're going to be in here, you might as well help me with this shit."

Well…it smelled good, so he couldn't see why not. If anything, that would mean he would get a portion of the soup. Or at least he assumed it was soup. Whatever it was, it was brothy. "Whatever. Can you tell me what the hell it is?"

She smirked mischievously. "Nope. You just have to listen to my directions, and it won't taste like ass. Now hand me the white pepper."

With the roll of his eyes, and a silent cursing of the need for quality food, he listened to her request and took the seasoning out of the cabinet. "Was it too high up for you too reach, midget?"

She violently nabbed the bottle of flavor. "So what if it was? I can kick your ass just as easy at this height!"

'Yeah, in your dreams.' He thought to himself, though he was finished with his verbal teasing. He would rather not have such delicious smelling food go to waste because they were too busy yelling at each other.

So he complied to her requests and orders, getting her spices, stirring what needed to be stirred, and in the end, he got some more experience in the kitchen as well as…

"A big ass bowl of the Katsuyumi 5-Star Multi-Meat Soup! And you're lucky your useless ass is getting any." She tried to act uncaring towards his opinion of her cooking, but with how intently she watched him sample his first bite, it was clearly a facade.

In fact, he barely finished the first spoonful before he was interrupted. "Oi, Dumbass. How is it?" The girl clearly awaited an answer.

He wasn't exactly a critic, so he decided on a simple reply. "It's good. Some of the best soup I've had."

Well, that seemed to boost her confidence in her cooking, at least a little. From what he could

tell, she really didn't have a lot of people eating her food. Maybe because her personality made people avoid her, but that's just assuming. That aside, she looked really pleased, unquestionably pleased with his review. "I already knew that I just wanted to see if you had any bullshit to say."

...She had a hard time vocalizing such things though…

With her piece said, and his opinion taken into account, she left the kitchen/dining area with the pot of soup in hand, leaving him alone with his large bowl. His, absurdly large wooden bowl, filled to the brim with the aforementioned mentioned mixture...

'...How the hell am I supposed to eat all this?'

* * *

(-)

* * *

Wow. Has it really been two months since my last post? Jesus guys, my bad. Sports have been taking up all my time and energy, so I haven't had time to write at all, not to mention that the first-day scene is awfully boring to even attempt to write.

So… I can't promise that the next chapter won't take as long to get out, but it should be quite a bit longer when it does. Also, a little heads up. To those of you who don't enjoy large polygamy's, rest assured. I don't plan on going overboard, at least not now, and I plan for most relationships to develop a little before entering romantic territory. It might give you all little hints, due to favoritism towards certain characters, but I won't spell it out. Gotta use those brains of yours.

Other than that, I guess I need to respond to reviews!

Starting off with WeebGod69, I do appreciate the kind words, and as for your question as to who Yui is, she is a member of class 1-B. Her full name is Yui Kodai, if you need to look her up and she is personally going to be one of my favorite people to write.

Demzerff1: Well, I would say his being born in this age is caused by a butterfly effect, but it's a little more complex than that. I want to say it was to bridge the two series together in a semi-plausible/reasonable way, without having some sort of interdimensional-travel.

Jerrend: I have decided, as previously mentioned, not to release a list. You don't have to worry about it growing too big for now. If I change my plans, I'll make sure to state it.

SomethingAncient: Good to see that someone doesn't mind filler. Makes me that much more confident in writing it. On your comment about his workout advice, I realized my wording didn't convey what I meant to say, but I actually don't mind. While cardio is important, one would think that she would be getting plenty during combat training, or in future sparring matches with a certain Shihoin Clan member. That being said, if she didn't do any of that, yes his advice would be harmful.

Shen: Don't you worry about Mineta. He has a role in this story more important than being comedic relief, not saying that he won't help with the execution of certain jokes.

That should be all of them, for now anyway. I hope you all have a nice day, and I will see you whenever the next chapter comes out!

Latta!


	7. Chapter 6: The Definition of Life

_"Hey...Izumi… I'm gonna need you to wake up. I kinda need my bed back."_

A small shake roused her from the realm of the sleeping, though it didn't succeed in truly waking her. "Mmmh….too tired….too comfy….smells good…."

She managed to bury her face deeper into the blanket she had been holding. He sighed, but didn't falter and gave her another shake. "You can go right back to sleep after you get to your room, but I really don't think you want to sleep in my bed."

The green-haired girl gave a solitary moan of discontent, but she also lifted her upper body out of the bed, complying with his request. "What do you mean...your bed…? This is my…" Her sleepy eyes scanned the room, taking a moment to process the missing All-Might posters on the far-side wall before opening wide in realization. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Ichigo!"

She looked like she was about to start a long apology or explanation, so he responded quickly. "Hey, it's fine. I was the one who brought you here. I just thought you'd be more comfortable in your own room, adding on the fact that you still need to change clothes."

She looked down at her chest, which was indeed covered by her school clothes. "Oh right! Thank you for that."

He shrugged, as she got out of his bed. "Eh. I would've put you in your room, but I didn't know where your keycard was, and I didn't want to wake you. Seems like you slept like a rock though." He pointed at her bed-head.

"I d-did, thanks to you…Recovery Girl's quirk made me exhausted." She said, a yawn breaking past her lungs.

Deciding it best for her, he ran his hands through her hair and attempted to fix the rats-nest that had come to be on top of her head. He had a lot of experience with this kind of stuff since his sisters often ran into the same problem before they left for school.

'Jeez. Her hair is crazy soft…' He thought, fixing the lopsidedness of the green mop.

It must have been rather soothing to her, as his sisters always said it was, because she eventually leaned her back into his torso while he raked his hands through her hair. It was oddly relaxing for him too, he had to admit. "Alright, it's presentable now." He broke the air of awkward relaxation, as she almost instantly stood straight and disconnected their point of contact.

"Thank you, I-Ichigo! I should get going now!" She seemed like she was rushing herself to leave, as she gave a very quick bow. "Goodnight, and sorry for the intrusion!"

And she left before he could reply.

He brought a hand up to the back of his head, rubbing it in confused relief as he looked on the bright side. 'Least I got my bed back.'

As his eyes wandered the room, he noticed that between the time he had brought Izumi into his room and now, Kisuke had returned a full functional Zangetsu to his living quarters. His only problem? He had to have entered while Izumi slept, and he had taken notice of her. That was evident by the note that was left on the blade.

_Hey! Tessai managed to finish repairing your blade, so I was kind enough to bring it here for you. Little did I know that I would find out that you already bedded someone on your first day of school! I'll leave it to you to tell your mother and father!_

_Kisuke_

Ichigo, whose teeth had started grinding as he read the note, slumped over in defeat. 'Hey...Zangetsu? What's with old people and making my life miserable?'

'Seems to be infectious, from what I can tell.'

'Ah. That makes sense.' The small card burst into flames, the ashes falling onto the floor without care as he fell on his bed. 'Well, torture can wait until tomorrow. I need to forget everything that has happened today before I let my mind crumble any further.'

'I would agree. Rest seems most needed at the moment… Especially after all that bedding you di-'

'SHUT THE FUCK UP!'

* * *

(-)

* * *

**"I am here, coming through the door like a Super Professional Hero!"**

He knew All-Might was a dork, but this was a new level of silliness. When the guy decides to slide into the room, in a pose similar to that of a superhero in an old cartoon, you really don't expect him to be the Symbol of Peace. Yet, there he was, adorning an outfit from his prime in an almost nostalgic look. He would be pretty cool, if not for the pose.

"No way! It actually is All-Might! That's super cool!"

"He's even wearing his Silver Age costume. That's kinda retro, actually."

"But... does this mean he's going to be teaching us?"

The hero's smile grew eerily wide with the classes cheers and conversing, almost as if he had been expecting the barrage of questions. **"Silence your stirring minds for the moment! You will have plenty of time to ask your queries throughout the year, as I will be one of the teachers here at U.A. University, as well as this class! Welcome to… Heroic Studies and Training!"**

Deciding that the doorway wasn't the best spot to teach the class in, he continued his introductory speech in front of the teaching platform. **"These lessons will be compiled of a number of different activities, ranging from studying the given material in the classroom to observing heroes in action and what we'll be doing today…In the Field Simulation Training, or IFST for short!"**

He displayed a video of the previous year's Combat Training, as he continued to monologue. **"As with the methods of learning, you will have several teachers in this class. I shall be here as often as possible, but your homeroom teacher Aizawa will fill in if duty calls me! Being the Symbol of Peace can be quite unpredictable!"**

The projection bought him time to grab a small red box from on top of the lectern.** "Now! In today's lesson, I have decided to hold nothing back, and head straight into BATTLE TRAINING!"**

He raised the box towards them, the word Battle being written on it in yellow to emphasize his point.

"Least he doesn't bullshit about it, though I'm not sure the second day of college should end with us brawling it out." He muttered to Izumi, who seemed surprised by the course the lesson was taking.

**"While I'll inform you lot about the rules of the combat when we reach the training grounds, something that cannot wait is a key factor of being a hero, looking good!"**

He must have had a remote hidden in his gargantuan hands because several cabinets displaying numbered briefcases glided out of the wall on his command. **"Each one of you has designed a costume to benefit you and your quirk, which is numbered according to your dorm number. You all have twenty minutes to put on your designated outfit and meet me in Training Ground Beta! See you there, Newbies!"**

And the Symbol of Peace left the room through the window, leaping out and leaving the students to scramble for their costumes.

* * *

(-)

* * *

'Did they have to make the top so tight?' Was Ichigo's thought when he first dressed in his costume. He plucked at the X shaped straps that closed the black cloak and partially covered the open skin along his torso, feeling it snap back into place whenever he let it go. 'It's almost skintight I swear.' Fiddling with the white sash on his waist, though it was difficult to unknot and retie it with gloves on, he walked out of the changing room and out into the entrance tunnel of Training Ground Beta.

"At least they had some sense and didn't give me tights." He mumbled, jogging out of the tunnel and into the sunlight. A few of his classmates had made it before him, though he didn't talk to them other than Izumi. Speaking of which…was her costume a little tight in the chest area? And the butt area? Because, god damn was it hugging her curves.

"Wow, Ichigo! Your costume looks so cool! I bet that sword is really heavy!" Izumi exclaimed as she walked up to him.

He shrugged. "It's actually pretty reasonable when it comes to weight. I would've made the material a little more breathable on the outfit though."

She looked up at him as they stood, watching nothing in particular. "Mine turned out perfect, probably because my mom made the actual clothing part. The accessories are really cool though!"

He nodded, taking a seat against one of the many buildings as they waited for the rest of the class to trickle in. Small talk was never his strong suit, so most of the conversation was Izumi mumbling on about random topics. He couldn't say he minded though, as sometimes she would unintentionally point out his and other people's strong suits and weaknesses.

**"Right! I think now that everyone is here we should be able to start with today's grueling lesson!"**

Attentions were diverted from the many conversations to the mountain of a man that was All-Might. Unsurprisingly, he was able to catch people's attention with ease.

**"The first task of today is to announce the groups, which I have made using a randomizer! This is to replicate the randomness of a real-life situation, as you will not be able to choose who you will be working with when you are out on the field."**

No one said a word in fear of unreasonable punishments being placed on them. Thanks for that Shiho.

**"Team A: You will consist of Hana Sero, Pony Tsunotori, and Tsuyu Asui!" **The three friends high-fived each other in excitement. There was definitely some chemistry when it came to those three. Plus, they were smart enough not to shout out any of their plans.

**"Team B: Ibara Shiozaki, Tokage Setsuna, Toyo Iida!"**

"Ibara-chan, you need to stop acting so shut off! Some people might mistake you as…' Spineless.'"

"Your untimely joke does not invoke outgoing spirit from my heart."

"Quit with all the fooling around! We must gather info on one another to gain an advantage against whatever we come up against!"

**"Team C: Ichigo Kurosaki, Neiko Monoma, and Katsuyumi Bakugo!"**

Great. Stuck with the pervert and the Tsundere. If he could get past their personalities, they could be pretty strong. Then again, he doubted he could.

"Oh! I get the man all to myself? Sucks that I'm going to have to embarrass him. Of course, he might be into humiliation~"

"Don't forget that I'm here, stupid ass!"

"Sorry short stack. Didn't see you there."

Yeah. He was kind of doomed.

**"Team D: Ikuyo Yoarashi, Izumi Midoriya, Yui Kodai!"**

Course all his friends got placed on a team while he was stuck with a nearly naked fire-cracker, and a pervert in a magicians outfit

"Let's do this you guys!"

"Mmh."

"I WOULD BE HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU TWO!"

**"Team E: Kinoko Komori, Itsuka Kendo, and one Toru Hagakure!"**

"Hey, I'm just wondering. Isn't it a little cold to be dressed like that?"

"Nope! I'm used to it by now!"

'Oh no! What if I accidentally hit her with my spores!'

**"Team F: Eiko Kirishima, Ochako Uraraka, and Momo Yaoyorozu. And, our final team, Team G with members Shouko Todoroki, Mina Ashido and Reiko Yanagi!"**

The pink-skinned girl looked bummed. "Why do I get put with the Debbie Downers?"

"Alright! The number of you lot makes it difficult to evenly distribute the experience you each get, so one team will have to go twice. I will decide on the group once the first three matches are over, just so I can see who is the most capable of going again."

"Onto the rules of the 'game!' There shall be a villain and hero team, which will be determined by lottery once more! The villain team has infiltrated a secret military base, and have collected a high tech bomb that they have set to go off in 15 minutes. Of course it is not a real bomb, but we shall be pretending for the test."

"The heroes have two ways of thwarting the villains. You must either capture all villains or touch the bomb, all within the allotted time slot given. Villains must hold off the heroes to win! The only condition other than time is to stay inside the building if you are a villain. It sounds simple, but given your quirks, this could be our own slice of chaos."

"NOW LET US DETERMINE MATCHES!"

* * *

(-)

* * *

So, what followed after was simple. The matches were, Team C versus Team D in match 1, lucky him, then Team A versus Team E, and finally Team F versus Team B. Team G was left in reserve for the moment, and since his team was the heroes, they were currently waiting for the go-ahead to be given by All-Might in…

"5 minutes. If you dipshits want to make a plan, we should do so now." He addressed the arguing blondes, splitting them up. Neiko, dressed in a magician's outfit, rolled her eyes before snarkily replying. "It's simple. We kick their asses, and then I fuck you like there's no tomorrow."

Katsuyumi, who had a more sporadic approach to her costume, with two grenade shaped gauntlets on her hands, open-toed and open heeled stockings without shoes, baggy black shorts, and a black spandex tank-top with orange armor-plates, stopped her. "Shut up you perverted bitch! No one wants to hear about you and your fantasies."

"Hey!" He used his spirit energy to weigh his words. "We're being broadcasted to the whole class you know! We need to actually plan something!"

The Explosion user growled. "Fine. I'll take out Deku and you two get rid of the extra's! Got it?"

The other blonde smiled. "I can work with that, but who's quirk am I copying?"

He sighed. "I doubt she's going to let you use hers, so you can borrow mine." He answered. "Though, you have to touch skin right? I can take off my glove if you are uncomfortable touching my face or chest."

For as perverted as she was, she flushed pretty red when he suggested he touch his chest. "N-No, the chest is fine!" She ordered, her hand practically slapping his open pec.

When she copied his quirk, which was a rather lackluster display, he felt her relatively impressive spiritual energy clashing with his. 'She has decent power, for it being her first time using it.'

"Woah! I feel like I could punch a hole in this building!" She said, starting one of the clocks on her belt.

"I wouldn't suggest it, but you might be able to. Now, get over here. I have an idea that should make everyone happy."

* * *

(-)

* * *

**"Villains! Your time to plan is up! The heroes now have access to the building, and have 15 minutes to foil your plotting! Be on the lookout, and Plus Ultra!"**

Izumi was up against a powerhouse team, and she knew that. Ichigo, though he hadn't shown his abilities in combat, was going to be their biggest concern. Katsuyumi was a force to be reckoned with as well, her highly versatile quirk making her fast, unpredictable, and powerful. And Neiko could copy either of their quirks, maybe even both! But, she knew their teamwork would be terrible, due to the prideful nature of Katsuyumi and the boastfulness of Neiko. That was a clear edge she knew her team had. Not to mention, her team was strong in their own right.

Yui had trapped the place to the brim using enlarged rubble, ruining any chance of secrecy the heroes wanted to use. It was impossible to sneak around when every hallway and door was closed off. She didn't doubt that they would get past it, with all three of them having potentially destructive quirks as previously stated, but at least they'd know where they were coming from.

Now, what they were banking on was that their team would be split up, allowing them to pick them off one by one. Izumi shook her head. She didn't have time to think about that right now. They were in the building somewhere, and it was only a matter of time before they found them.

* * *

(-)

* * *

"Damnit. Where did those two go?"

The sound of sandal's tapping against the concrete floor echoed back to Ichigo's ears as he walked through the building, alone as he looked for his rogue squadmates. They had originally agreed to follow his plan, but when All-Might gave them the go-ahead to begin their assault, they split up to achieve their different goals…leaving him by himself, wary of ambush. The 'villains' had been smart enough to create roadblocks in most of the hallways, forcing the choice of wasting time or giving away his location. He never had been one for stealth anyway, so he forced his way through. He had also run into some already destroyed obstacles, informing him that yes, his teammates had chosen the same option.

After a minute of wandering about, he heard the sound of explosions, though it was muffled by several walls of concrete. That meant that Katsuyumi had probably found where the bomb was at. 'It sounds like they're a few floors above me…' He thought to himself. 'I guess I really don't have a choice… I doubt there's a stairwell anywhere close by.'

It wasn't exactly the most heroic thing to do, but it saved time, so Ichigo punched a hole all the way up two floors, giving him quick access to the floor he needed to get to. Now, the only thing standing in his way was navigating to where the fight was going on…

'I guess I could keep punching holes in the building.'

* * *

Katsuyumi was tired. Her arms ached with strain from using her quirk too much. Damn it, she shouldn't have run off like that. Of course, Deku wouldn't fight her one on one. Deku knew she was too weak, even with her stupid new quirk, so she'd have to rely on others to save her. The bitch shouldn't ever be allowed to be a hero.

"Give it up, Hero! You're going to hell along with the rest of this town!" The wind-user extra mocked, pissing her off even more. But, she knew that she wasn't going to be able to overpower them. Neiko had tried that and was captured almost instantly. Her only hope, was to disable the bomb. It was a cheap way of winning, but it was better than losing to Deku. So much better.

"Shut up… You're only winning because it's one on three! I would kick all of your asses in a one on one battle!" She growled, as her temporary foes got ready to fight again. Her arms, which had been dangling tiredly at her side, came back to life as she assumed a Muay Thai inspired pose. She needed to be fast, otherwise, her plan wasn't going to work.

Ikuyo was the first to attempt taking Bakugo down, charging her recklessly in an attempt to finish the hero off before reenforcement arrived. In doing so, she accidentally created an opening for Katsuyumi. "Nitro-FlashBang!"

A blinding explosion filled the room, disabling the wind-user from attacking confidently due to her burnt retina's. However, the heat needed to create such a light, seared some of the skin off the hands of Katsuyumi. She could barely feel it with the adrenaline pumping through her. She vaulted over the tall woman, leaving Izumi and Yui to try to take her down. What Bakugo didn't expect, was for a handful of oversized nuts and bolts to be thrown her way, posing as both an attack and a barricade. Size really was a problematic quirk to deal with, but so was Explosion.

She blasted a hole into the wall of loose metal, bursting through it using a blast from her feet, and aimed for the bomb. She was only a few feet away, when the villains' capture tape wrapped around one of her legs and pulled her to the ground. "I'm not letting you win like that Kacchan!"

It had been Deku who stopped her? That force had been way too strong to be the useless nerd! She tried to get up, but a sudden weight on her back stopped her already exhausted body, allowing the roughed up 'villains' to capture her.

"Both heroes Bakugo and Monoma are captured! 7 and a half minutes remaining!"

* * *

He'd been too late, he guessed. It wasn't exactly his fault since they ran off, but it would've been nice to not fight the whole villain team on his own…Oh well. It was in the past now, and he'd found where the bomb used to be. He could tell by the scorch marks around the room, the oversized objects scattered about. All signs of the battle that had just occurred. The open door on the stairwell also told him that they had gone to the roof, since there wasn't a way down in that particular stairwell. 'I guess that means there should be more than enough room to use you, Zangetsu.'

'Just don't shame us by losing.'

'No need to worry. I got this.'

He jogged up the stairs until he came up to the door leading outside, unsheathing Zangetsu from his back before taking a deep breath. 'Alright. Let's do this.'

His foot made contact with the metal of the door, kicking it open as he exited the small room and revealed the villain team, ready to fight. "So the final hero has decided to grace us with his presence. Too bad we've already captured your partners, leaving you to try to fight us on your own!" Ikuyo boasted.

"Hmm." Yui showed off the miniature bomb in her hand, telling him that winning by touching the bomb would be next to impossible.

"Yeah! This whole town is going to blow! Mwahaha!"

As much as Izumi was trying to fill the role of a villain, she was a little too sweet to pull it off. "It's whatever. I'm still going to win this thing…I mean, save the city." With his piece said, he dropped the bars on his spirit energy and let it flow out sporadically. "Let's move, Zangetsu!"

They must have planned out fighting him before he arrived, because he was attacked by all three of them at once. He blocked a punch from Izumi first, her fist crashing into his blade before he swiped his legs under her feet and sent her slamming into the ground. Then, narrowly dodging a jet of dense air as well as several mega-sized screws, he dispatched Yui with an elbow to the stomach and a chop to the back of the head. By that time, Izumi had gotten back up, forcing him to dodge a flurry of jabs and kicks from both her and Ikuyo, all the while being gusted down by heavy winds.

A wild haymaker from Ikuyo presented to him an opportunity, one he was all but willing to take, ducking under the blow and jabbing her side with the hilt of his sword, collapsing several of her ribs at once through her thick coat and stopping her close-range combat. That didn't stop her winds from getting stronger by ten-fold, causing the fur on the collar of her outfit to spike up like an enraged wolf. Due to his slowed and sluggish movements, and still having to focus on Izumi's rather quick and concentrated moves, his back was struck by a rogue piece of rubble, enlarged and thrown by one Yui Kodai, who managed to recover from his blows. The helmet she had been wearing had fallen off, however, revealing her rather messy hair and giving her a wild look. Honestly, if he wasn't fighting at the moment, most of his blood would've headed down south.

Intercepting a reverse crescent kick with locked arms, his pulled, bruised, dislocated back muscles were burning with pain as he shoved her leg away, only to grab it and pull her back towards him and knock the already off-balance girl to the ground with an outstretched foot. She rolled into his trip, getting to her feet almost instantly as she regrouped with her other two out of breath and injured teammates, in an attempt to resync their assault.

Ichigo, who had been hunched over from his throw for a few seconds, stood tall once more, even leaning back a bit as he let the tip of Zangetsu rest on the ground for a moment as he too recollected himself. With his free hand, he placed it on the side of his neck and let a rather loud pop erupt from the spinal bones. "Alright." He eyed the 'villains' with a dangerous smile. "Who's ready for round 2?"

Break.

When Eiko first saw Ichigo, she was instantly impressed with how he held himself. He held an air of confidence, one not unjustified due to his displays during the Quirk Assessment Test. She found him absurdly attractive, with his wild spiky hair, his lean, muscular, downright chiseled figure, and his towering height. She found him kind and caring, when he stood up for his classmates, or when he offered help when needed. When he gave compliments to those deserving.

But, having just watched him almost single-handedly dismantle one of the strongest teams in the training exercise and seeing his strangely hot and dangerous smile, she felt a warm feeling present itself in her heart.

It seemed Hana felt the same. "Is it just me, or was that like, hot beyond comparison."

It was fair to say that most of the class nodded. "He just fought all three of them at once, and he almost made it look easy! That's just insane!" Ochako inputted.

"It's not surprising. Kurosaki has given his undivided effort into bettering himself for the better part of a decade."

Eiko continued to gawk at the screen displaying the rooftop of the building. "T-That's…so manly…"

* * *

(-)

* * *

He could tell they were tired. Their movements had slowed. Their attacks had weakened. They started hesitating. Fatigue wasn't new to him in the slightest, so he knew what they were enduring. 'I guess I should put this capture tape to use now…'

He placed Zangetsu onto his back, the black cloth tied onto the end forming a sheath around the blade and concealing its power for the moment as he replaced his sword with a white roll of capture tape. The three in front of him stiffened up as they tried to anticipate what they assumed to be a head-on assault, only for him to blink away in an instant.

Finding Yui as his easiest target, since her specialties were laid outside of close-quarters-combat, he tied her right arm to her torso, rendering her captured as per the rules. Of course, his haste left him open to a red, steel-toed boot crashing into his face, boosted by the power of 1% One For All, but he had managed to take down one of their teammates indefinitely. His jaw still hurt really bad after that though.

Next was Ikuyo, who's broken ribs had started to take a toll on her body and was leaned over in pain. Still, she was as ready to fight as she was before, so he was a little more careful than he was with Yui. He had to dodge both an uppercut and a jab, before catching a haymaker kick with his upper arm, though the force of the kick managed to dislocate his right shoulder. Damn, did she have some legs on her. He managed to tie the leg in the tape before she could retract in, though he felt the incredible pain of a torn ligament in his right arm add onto the already dislocated joint. He pulled her down onto the ground, a painful thud following as she laid on the ground.

All that was left now...was Izumi. She, out of all of her team, was the least tired. Her body was far from being used to control her quirk, leading one to believe that her being weary beyond the rest of the people out on the field would be the only outcome. However, by some feat of determination, she still stood tall in front of him. "I feel like…my body should have g-given out on me long ago, but...I refuse to give up like that." She told him.

He smirked a little. "Glad to hear it. I wouldn't want to win any other way." He remarked before she assaulted him for one final time. Yet, without the heavy winds on his body, the spirit-pressure crashing down on her, and her body being quite tired, her moves seemed a little less than choreographed. He dodged several punches, caught a few kicks, yet it seemed that Izumi had one last trick up her sleeve.

**"I won't lose!" **She bellowed, her voice comparable to All-Might's as her speed doubled several times over, the punches becoming increasingly precise, more common. **"Deleware Smash!" **He had almost missed the leg that had come swinging at his face, its velocity almost as fast as that of a bullet, leading to his dodge being a sloppy use of Shunpo to bring him a few feet away from her.

Yet, just the air pressure of the attack broke the short concrete walls that encircled the roof, as well a pierce a hole in the side of a slightly taller building that sat next to them. Concrete shrapnel shattered most of the glass within a 100-meter radius of her attack. But, such an attack had its toll on her. Her left pant leg was torn to shreds, revealing a unhealthy purple hue on her thigh and calf as her leg stood airborne, her whole body still in the position from when she attacked.

Then, she fell down out of exhaustion, passing out on site.

**"With one minute left on the clock, the Hero Team Wins!"**

He raised his hand in acknowledgment, giving the pro hero the go-ahead to send out the two stretchers he had on stand-by. He himself, in an attempt to ease one of the many aching pains, placed said hand on his shoulder as he took in an air of breath…before wrenching his shoulder back in place. There was an awful sound as bone and muscle ground against each other, creating a sharp pain in the now relocated joint, though it faded moments later. "S-Shit." He breathed out with a grunt, breathing heavily as he scanned the wreckage for where he was needed.

Neiko and Katsuyumi had already been moved from the field much earlier, so he didn't worry about them. Not that they were too injured anyway. As for Izumi and Ikuyo, they were a different story. They were scratched and bruised in every place, and he didn't know exactly where they were severely injured. sans Izumi's shattered leg, so he left them to be taken care of by the stretchers. He would rather not hurt them further, he decided. He felt bad for what he did, but hopefully, they would learn from it. And, with all that decided, he was left in charge of a certain Size quirk user…

"Hey, Yui…" He moved over to the stoic girl, who laid 'captured' on the ground. "You guys did really well. That was closer than I thought it would be." He told her, scooping the beautiful, tied up girl into his arms. She clearly didn't object, leaning into his touch and resting her head on his chest. It felt like just his body heat was already easing all the knots that had developed in her body during their battle.

She gave the slightest of smiles in his grip. _"...I wouldn't call it close..."_ Her voice, as quiet as it was, surprised him. It was incredibly soft, fitting the young woman perfectly.

"I dunno. You guys had me worried several times there." He countered back, wanting to give credit where it was due.

Yui's smile only grew from there. "Mmh."

Break

The medical robots arrived with stretchers in hand, carefully lifting the injured Izumi and Ikuyo onto the soft fabric before moving them off the field, Ichigo and Yui in tow.

This gave All-Might the ability to move on with the lesson. **"That was a brilliant match by Team C and Team D. Now that they are in the care of Recovery Girl, let us analyze their actions! To start off, can anyone tell me who the MVP of that match was?" **He looked to the students, only seeing one definitive hand in the air. **"Ah. Yes, ?"**

"I believe that Kurosaki is the most conclusive choice of the MVP award."

She wasn't wrong, she just needed to elaborate further. **"Are there any reasons why?"**

She nodded. "Kurosaki tried to make a plan with his teammates before entering the building, clearly taking his opponents seriously as the other failed to. Then, when his teammates ran off, he attempted to regroup with them instead of attacking on his own and getting captured. Finally, he managed to subdue the entirety of Team D on his own, after Bakugo and Monoma foolishly got themselves captured. At the same time, he is not without his own flaws. He failed to act his role, being far from cautious when he explored the building, as well as causing structural damage to the compound in an attempt to save time. That's why Kurosaki is MVP."

…

…

…

Wow. That was pretty much everything he was going to point out, and then some! He'd have to remember that she had a good head on her.

**"Y-Yes! Exactly right! I'm impressed with your analytical skills!"** He opened a small flip-book that he retrieved from one of his back pockets, a guide on how to teach scribbled hastily on its pages. He really should've studied his lesson plan a little more, because reading from that tiny book was just degrading. **"For the final question, what are some things that both teams could have done better, or even just something a certain individual should work on?"**

He saw a mass of hands raise, all eager to answer. And, with a click of a button, he started to record the input each student had on the battle.

* * *

(-)

* * *

"If it weren't for you Kurosaki's, I swear I would be retired by now. Like seriously, barely anyone but you and whoever had the misfortune of crossing paths with your family comes in here. If you were a little more careful, I might even be able to take a couple of vacation days. But oh no! Why would you ever give poor little Chiyo a break?"

He covered one of his ears in pain. "I said I was sorry! It's not my fault no one ever lets me hold back!" He countered back, only to get bonked on the head with the end of the old woman's cane.

"Hush your mouth! There are people trying to sleep in here!"

A few exasperated gasps escaped his lips as he attempted to voice the amount of hypocrisy in her statement, yet the looming threat of her cane and a bloody ear-drum stopped anything but a sigh from coming out as he fell back onto his pillow. Sometimes, he couldn't believe granny.

"Now, there aren't enough beds for all of you at the moment, courtesy of All-Might and his inability to plan ahead. And as much as I'm sure the wonderful young lady would 'love' to sleep on an operating table, she has agreed to share that bed with you Kurosaki. Yoarashi and Midoriya's conditions are too unstable to risk accidents, so Young Kodai will be resting with you." She informed him, signaling Yui to enter the sectioned off beds. "I should be getting more moved here soon, so this should only be temporary." Chiyo explained though Ichigo was a little too focused on his bed-mate to really register it.

Was it possible for a hospital gown to be sexy?

Yui sluggishly climbed into the relatively large medical bed, the small amount of healing Recovery Girl was able to do on her already tired body doing very little to ease her aches. She preferred Ichigo's body heat anyway, so when she was offered the chance to lay next to him, Yui felt rather inclined to take it. "Speaking of which, I need to restock on some anesthetics before we get more injured younguns in here. It should take a little more than twenty minutes before I get back." She said, scratching her head as she pondered on if there was anything else she needed to say or retrieve. "That should be everything… I'll give you some better pain-killers when I get back. And don't do anything I wouldn't do while I'm out." She told them, leaving them to lay in silence as the quiet beeps of a heart-rate monitor echoed through the ceramic walls.

"So...uh…" He swallowed a blob of saliva. "...is there any specific way you tend to sleep?" He probably could've worded his question a little better, but it achieved the desired outcome. With a nod, she grabbed his hands, confusing him for a moment before she wrapped them around her waist, putting them both on their shoulders as the loosely spooned. Course, the slack in the position was erased when she moved her body flush against his in a near-perfect fit. For Yui, it was about as comfortable as she could ever be, as it felt like her every curve fit into him like a puzzle piece, not even accounting in his much yearned for warmth. Really, it was just pure bliss for her.

"W-Well, if this is how you want to, then I won't object." He muttered, tightening his grip on her waist just a smidge. Honestly, he was unreasonably comfortable in his current position. So much so that, as his hormones started to recede in the span of a few, silent minutes, a slow, calming sleep began enveloping his being. "...sleep well...Yui…"

…

…

…

"...you too, Ichigo-san…"

* * *

(-)

* * *

Yui is too cute to write.


	8. Chapter 7: And the Ability to Prosper

'**Note to self: Try not to allow Momo Yaoyorozu time to prepare for battle during training.'**

Having just watched the Hero Team, which consisted of Toyo, Tokage, and Ibara, be captured within 2 minutes of entering the building, All-Might could say that he was a little scared of the High-Class hero in training that was Momo. In the previous two training installments, neither team had gotten a definite advantage until later into the fight, and Team E even managed to squeeze out a surprise victory by abusing the invisible power of Toru and touching the bomb while the villains were distracted. Yet, the last match for the moment had ended before it even started.

Sighing to himself, he readied his trusty notepad as he prepared to have his class analyze the short string of events that took place.

Honestly, maybe he should've studied teaching a little more because man, was it hard!

* * *

(-)

* * *

Recovering from injuries had never been a problem for Ichigo. It was usually a 'sleep it off' deal, and whenever he woke up, getting out of bed or off the couch was easy. This time, however, he refused to leave his spot on the medical bed.

What was different this time?

There was a beautiful, cute, shy, quiet, aloof, sleeping, injured, cute, kind, (He'd mentioned cute right?) young woman snuggled into his chest that had, believe it or not, never been there before when he'd woken up from his naps. Her face carried an air of peacefulness, the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest ensuring that, yes, she was, in fact, asleep and alive. He could feel her heartbeat, steady against his arm as his bicep was squished in between her breasts. And, for as reserved as he was, he refrained from moving her for two reasons, the first of which having to do with him not wanting to risk disturbing her peaceful rest.

...The second...was because he rather enjoyed the position. Who would have guessed that Ichigo Kurosaki of all people would be into cuddling?

However, his blissful silence was cut short. '_Ichigo. Realize that the battles of today might not be over. Toshinori said that the most able team would have to go again, and two of your teammates sustained minimal injuries, and you are nearing fully healed. That means there is a high chance of you needing to battle again, depending on the outcomes of the other battles._'

'Oh yeah… I forgot about that.' He replied, looking around for any of the teachers.. 'Just, let me enjoy this while I can, yeah? I'm sure All-Might will come to get me when I'm needed.'

Coincidentally, the giant goof-ball had jumped up to the open window of the nurse's office. "**Young Ichigo, my boy!"** He beamed in his usually upbeat voice, kneeling on the window-sill. "**I have come to inform you that you needn't worry! You will not have to fight once more, and may take it-"**

***Thunk***

He was cut off by a plastic cup colliding harmlessly against his forehead. "Shut up!" The assaulter whisper yelled, arm still outstretched from tossing the object. "Can't you see she's asleep?"

The hero looked around with confusion, not seeing another bed anywhere near his student. ''**What do you mean, Young Ichigo? There's no one…''** He started, before finally locking onto the sleeping Yui Kodai resting on his shoulder. ''**Oh, I see… You have my apologies. I just wanted to let you know you can take it easy and won't be taking part in training again. In fact, you should be able to return to the dorms in fact, as long as I have dismissed you, which, as of now, I have…I think?''** The mountainous man said to his nephew-in-all-but-blood. ''**Anyway, I should be getting back to the rest of your class. I left your mother in charge, and I'd rather not have a repeat of last week, especially since she just woke up about ten minutes ago.''** He explained, though he wasn't going to wait for a response. It was clear that the boy wasn't going to be able to speak back.

Ichigo nodded to him, sharing the pro-hero's worries of his mother as he saw a nervous sweat build on the man's forehead as he left. It was humbling to see the Number 1 Hero was also scared of his mother, making him smile slightly.

"...Was...that...All-Might?" He was a little surprised when Yui's ever soft voice whispered in his ear, but it was too gentle to startle him.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Did he wake you up?" He asked her, feeling her shift next to him.

She nodded into his shoulder, obviously pouting over being woken up by the rather loud oaf that was Toshinori. He didn't blame her. Abrupt wake-ups were the worst. "Well, he dismissed us from class if you want to head back to the dorms or whatever." He offered as compensation for her rude awakening.

"Mhm." She said, in her own way of agreeing.

She hoped he wouldn't get mad at her when she would inevitably ask to get some food.

* * *

(-)

* * *

Shouko usually had a consistent outlook on most things. Unimpressed, bland, mediocre. She could say that, so far, today was no different. The fights seemed predictable, with outcomes she could've seen from a mile away. Her own outfit, a simple button-down shirt and black slacks, was boring. Even now, minutes away from infiltrating the building that held the opposing team of Momo, Eiko and Ochako, she was calm as could be. It wasn't her fault, they were all just...forgettable.

She didn't mind Reiko, the ghostly girl on her team who seemingly shared a depressing outlook on life and remained reserved to her own thoughts. She felt like she could find some companionship with her, as she did Yui Kodai. The pink girl, whose name she had forgotten, seemed to have found a way to endlessly get on her nerves. So cheery, happy-go-lucky, and careless. It was as if she hadn't entered the real world at any moment of her life, and was sheltered by everyone around her.

It irked her to no end, but it would be unprofessional to let her feelings get in the way of being a hero. That's why she had put up with her long enough to communicate a plan. They'd figure out where the enemy team was located and freeze the room in its entirety before touching the bomb. The element of surprise, since the villains didn't have much in the sense of location, was ever important.

"Hero's. You have fifteen minutes. Go." The static-y voice of Shiho sounded on the small earpiece each of them wore, Shouko taking off the second she was told and the other two following.

It wasn't hard to locate the villains, Eiko practicing her villainous monologuing and unintentionally giving them the advantage. Her teammates looked at Shouko for confirmation, the icy girl's hand touching the door and sending a heavy chill through the room.

Ice built its way around the floors, walls, and even the ceiling, surprising the enemy team. Shouko's power had been beyond what they had imagined, freezing at a scale and precision most found impossible, yet happened before their eyes. And now, with all the traps disabled and enemies frozen, they walked carelessly into the room eyes set on the bomb. "Sorry. No hard feelings, but you guys didn't stand a chance in this environment." She told the shivering team, whose feet were frozen to the ground, as well as a good chunk of their calves.

"The hero team wins. Hurry your asses back here so we can discuss what the hell just happened." Wasn't her fault she was trained for the majority of her life.

* * *

(-)

* * *

Ichigo had never been one to personally enjoy ice-cream, finding the overwhelming sweetness of it something he would enjoy in sparsity. He much preferred chocolate as his treat of choice, but he decided to get a small cone to match with Yui's large one, something he had bought her after they finished eating at a small fast-food chain within UA's massive land plot. He made note of how reluctant she was to ask him for something, the fear in her eyes as she did so, almost as if doing so had a horrible repercussion. He also made note of how she was staring at the large cone of pure sugar that stood on display in the small stall, and had bought it for her when she hadn't asked.

He wouldn't have guessed that the stoic girl had a sweet-tooth, but the twinkle in her eye as he gave her the decorated cone gave him no room to argue. Neither did the adorably small licks she gave to the edges as it started to melt or the small smile that found itself present on her face whenever she took one of the previously mentioned licks.

They'd probably have to put it in a bowl when they got to the dorm at the rate it was melting, because her attempts at saving it were a little underhanded. "Yui, have you ever had ice-cream before?" She shook her head, surprising her ice-cream buddy. "Really? I mean, did your parents never take you to get some?" She shook her head again as they arrived at the dorm entrance. However, before he was able to enter the building, the sound of crutches and a familiar voice stopped him.

"Ichigo!" Izumi beamed at him, as she hurried over to the door as fast as she could, which while on crutches, wasn't very quick.

"Oh, hey Izumi. You look a lot better now." He commented, the bulk of her injuries healed and her leg concealed by a cast.

She gave him a nervous, but heart-achingly sweet smile. "Y-Yeah, Recovery Girl said that if I hadn't tried that last kick, I would be fully healed by now. But, I don't think that w-was really an option for me. I couldn't stand losing without giving it my best." She told him as he held the door open for her.

"That's a good mentality to have, but try to not injure yourself too bad during practice, yeah?" She laughed lightly, looking down as she hobbled inside. "Speaking of which, how's Ikuyo doing?"

Izumi's eyes perked up. "Oh! She's actually doing fine, now. She had a couple of broken ribs, but she was too tired for Recovery Girl to heal them. I didn't break my leg somehow, only damaged the muscle and stuff around it, as well as bruised the bone, so she was able to heal me pretty quick." She explained, pointing at the cast. "I still have to go back tomorrow, just to finish up."

He nodded, noticing that Yui had found herself on the couch after entering the building, eating her ice-cream out of a bowl while watching a nature documentary. For someone so quiet and reserved, she moved really damn fast. "I see. I guess you shouldn't be on your leg all that much. Chiyo would be pissed if you undid all her 'hard work'." He jabbed as he sat beside Yui, knowing the old woman's quirk had no toll on her, only the person receiving its benefits.

Izumi nodded, taking a seat on his open flank. The documentary, like most others, was in the realm of the generic. It started off on a tropical island, before moving into a temperate forest, then Savanna, and finally, the Arctic and the desert. He had to admit though, some of the camera shots were rather appealing to the eye. He would need to visit the beach again sometime.

Over the course of the short film, he had managed to miss the dangerous glances that had been shot past him. Several times, Yui and Izumi had given each other rather...deadly glares, for reasons neither were too proud of, but willing to defend. This only grew in scale when he found his shoulders occupied by two feminine heads, which had grown weary over the course of the day.

"Ahh...My neck is so sore…" He heard a low whine as his greenete friend attempted to massage the ache in her neck. Little did she know, Ichigo had a little experience in relieving such pains.

"I, uh…can help with that if you want." She looked at him hopefully. "My first job, back when I was sixteen, was a masseuse at a local spa. I worked there for about a year before I quit."

There was one, common thought running through the girls' minds.

'I think I found the definition of husband material.'

* * *

(-)

* * *

"Okay, so. I've done it with either, so just choose what you're comfortable with, but...do you want to unclip your bra or no?"

Izumi's face turned the brightest red she thought possible, burying her face in the pillow he had supplied her with. She didn't notice the jealous stare from Yui. "O-O-Off!" She squealed, though it was barely audible through the cotton. She wondered for a moment, if he had heard her or not, but it was put to rest when his calloused fingers brushed against her skin as he unhooked her chest-piece.

*CLICK*

And with a single motion, the straps fell to the side, revealing that, yes, even her pale skin managed to have a tan-line. He thought it was kinda cute. "Alright, if I'm going to do this, you need to relax a little more. You look like you are trying to curl up into a ball." That was actually exactly what she was trying to do. But, she managed to calm her nerves just enough to slightly sink into the twin-sized mattress that was held up by an ironing board.

Sue him. He set it up in two minutes with limited resources, in his average-sized room, and he wanted it to be as similar to the real thing as possible.

The second his fingers pressed into her lower back, the rest of the tension in her body became lax, almost as if he was in fact, ironing out his clothes. The way his fingers firmly, but gently, pressed into her stressed muscles...god, it seemed heaven wasn't so far. "Ohh…" She let an uncharacteristic moan when his thumbs melted a knot next to her spine, though she was too immersed to care. At that moment, she was wondering what Ichigo's hands couldn't do.

Ichigo seemed to be equally focused on the massage, thumbs searching around her back for tenseness or knots, his other fingers sliding up and down her side as he methodically pressured her muscular structure. When he had first gotten the job, small talk between the customer was encouraged, just to get them more comfortable. But as time went on, he came to realize that massages are best when everyone around you shuts the fuck up. Just a small tip he had learned.

When he got to her shoulders, which had already slumped lazily into the makeshift padding, the number of kinks had doubled, and the size had grown considerably. He wondered if she had ever gotten one before, or at least, a professional one. The lazy smile on her cherry-red face said that, no, she hadn't. To finish off her upper-body, he brought his fingers to her neck, firmly stretching and poking the tired muscle as he pushed out the gastric gathering, causing another quieter, but similarly pleased moan to escape her limp lips.

She was kind of slobbering on his pillow, might he add, which only added to his confidence as a masseuse.

After he finished with her upper-torso and neck, he was left with her lower body to pander to, which was exposed sans for a towel wrapped around her waist to cover up her more private areas. That still left her thick and powerful thighs, tender, strong calves and dainty feet revealed. Now that he was thinking about it, he was almost 100% sure by now that he had a thing for thighs. Or just legs in general. But, he was professional at the moment. There would be no lewd thoughts until after he was finished.

"Izumi, I'm moving to your legs now." He warned in a soft, caring voice as he lifted his hands off her back. Her reply was an inaudible, but approving jumble of slurred syllables, urging him to continue his work. It would be a little odd, working around the white cast that enclosed her leg, but he'd done it before. 'Okay then...Here I go.'

When his hands came in contact with her thigh, he would almost compare it to the feeling of memory foam, but much more malleable, and covered in a layer of silk. Izumi seemed to enjoy it enough, giving off her loudest groan yet as his hands dug into her meaty thighs. The muscles seemed abused, tired, but the kinks and knots were minimal, meaning he should be much softer on her legs. He just needed to put enough pressure to squeeze out the acid build-up.

"Mmh." He forgot that Yui had been watching. When he turned to look at her, she seemed a bit...flushed. Like, Izumi level flushed.

"Yeah?" He asked her, his hands still tenderly kneading Izumi's thighs.

"Mmh." She pointed at Izumi, then herself.

He was confused for a second, but got what she was asking pretty quickly. He was a little hesitant to use his weak telepathy after the last time. "You want one too?" She nodded enthusiastically, or what he would consider enthusiastic for her. "Sure. It'd have to be at a different time though."

She nodded again, her means of communication being limited, and he focused back onto the limp, bliss-drunk girl on his 'massage-table'. He was sure that her thighs had been taken care of, so he moved his hands down to her accessible calf. There was much less give on her calf compared to most everywhere else, which was expected for one of the most muscle concentrated places on the body, but it seemed the stress was just the same. Overworked, and overused.

Nothing he couldn't fix. It would just be a lot faster than her other body parts, seeing as there was some push-back and he could use both hands on one part for the entire time. The few lumps that there were, had been pushed out rather quickly, leaving the sinews tired, but untangled and relieved. He kneaded the sturdy flesh for a moment longer, before moving onto his final spot. Her foot.

He had done a total of 13 foot massages throughout his career, not being his biggest expertise, but he felt obligated to give her one. He'd gotten this far, he could finish strong. He made sure to get as much of her foot clear of sores or kinks, finishing after he made sure that they were truly gone.

"Alright, I think that's it." He told her, popping his fingers and knuckles as he walked into the bathroom, washing his hands.

"Thanksh, Ishigo." She slurred into the pillow, lifting her head and torso off of the mattress. "That felt amashzing."

"Yeah, no problem." He replied, turning around absentmindedly before realizing…

She hadn't clipped her bra back on.

'How the hell are her nipples cute too? I swear, everything about this girl is just adorable.' He thought to himself, staring at the gravity-defying globes and their small red tips for a brief moment before looking away.

"Izumi. Bra."

…

…

...

It took a few seconds, but an 'eep!' was heard, and he was shoved out of the bathroom before the door was slammed shut.

And all Ichigo was left to do was sigh.

'I feel like this school is going to be the death of me.'

* * *

(-)

* * *

"The decisions you make today are going to influence the entirety of your life moving forward…" If there was one thing his mom was good at, it was making things sound a lot more important than they really were. "You will be choosing your class representatives." Case in point.

"But Ms. Aizawa, how are we going to decide? I believe that most everyone here would want to assume a leadership position!" Toyo pointed out, getting a mostly unanimous nod from her surrounding classmates.

The tired teacher moaned, falling to the floor and into her bag. "I don't care. Just get it done before the period's over."

And she let the class fall into chaos.

"Honestly, if you guys want any hope of a good leader, you dumbshits should let me be it!"

"I believe that I could lead us all down a righteous and holy path with little difficulty. After all, God is our shepherd."

"I've had experience as an authority figure, thus I should be the Class Representative."

As the class competed to talk over each other, Ichigo, Izumi, Shouko and Yui watched the chaos. "Should we try to sort this out, or is it a lost cause?"

"Mmh."

"Lost cause."

The loud ringing of a megaphone silenced the room, as Toyo gathered everyone's attention. "If we want to do this right, we should host a vote to see who is most favored by the class! The winners would be fairly elected, so no one could complain!" She boomed, heads shaking in agreement. "Good! Now, let's get this organized!"

* * *

"I really shouldn't have organized them…"

Toyo looked down-trodden, staring at the chalkboard that held the votes. At the top, stood Ichigo Kurosaki with a total of 5 votes, and right below him was Momo Yaoyorozu with a steady 3 votes. She had gotten zero votes, having opted for the Todoroki who'd seemed to be the best choice, but even she only got 2 votes.

"Wait, how the fuck am I up there? I didn't even vote for myself." Ichigo contested, though he wasn't exactly unhappy. He never liked being ordered around, and he could've guessed that his vice would've done exactly that.

Toyo, though still despaired, answered him. "Your performance during the Battle Training and Quirk Assessment made you a worthy candidate, though we could do without the foul language."

"Yeah Ichigo-kun! You showed some real manly strength yesterday!" Eiko added on sweetly.

He shrugged. "Thanks Eiko. And Toyo, sorry, I guess? That's just part of my vocabulary, and it probably won't change anytime soon."

"Enough. It has been decided. Kurosaki is your Class Representative, and Yaoyorozu is your vice." Shiho silenced them from her spot on the floor. "I can brief you two on your responsibilities after school, during the Representatives Meeting in 1-B's homeroom. For now though, continue your day as normal. You are dismissed at the bell." She told the two, before sliding under the wooden steps of the raised podium platform.

She was finding weirder and weirder spots to nap in, he swore.

And so, the day did go as normal, English, Math, and History finishing without a hitch, leading into the hour long lunch-break during mid-day. He enjoyed the food offered within the school, being made by the legendary chef hero, Lunch Rush. He had thought about signing up for his cooking classes, just because his food was that good.

"Who would've thought that Berry-chan would become class rep?" A perverted voice slithered into his ears as he took a bite out of his grilled chicken, a pair of hands clasping onto his shoulders. "I like a man with a little...au-thor-i-ty~"

He shrugged her hands away. "Neiko, do you mind not doing that right now? I'm trying to eat without you and you perverted-ass ruining it."

She frowned, folding her arms. "Fine. Come talk to me when you lose the attitude, loser."

Yeah, a loser she had just tried to hook up with.

"How do you do it?" It was a new voice, one he had never heard before. It had a slight lisp to it, sounding like a kid going through puberty, though it seemed rather angry with him for some reason. Almost like an irritated detective.

"Do what?" He replied sternly, taking another chop-stick full of rice into his mouth.

That's when the boy sat next to him. He had purple, bumpy smooth hair that was rather odd, seeming out of place on his normal, but incredibly short body. And he was talking Kinoko levels of short. "70 percent of the girls in this room have glanced at you for some reason, and at least 40 percent have called you attractive in some way. So, how do you do it? How do you get that kind of attention without even trying?"

Oh…

...

Oh? "Um, if I'm not trying, how should I know?"

The boy nodded. "Good point. I should ask the other people how…" He trailed off, seemingly falling into deep thought. "I will get back to you eventually." He said, as he got up off his seat to gather data. Ichigo really wished normal people would start approaching him again.

Thankfully, his friends had finally returned from getting food. "Who was that? I don't think I've seen him before." Eiko asked, as she sat down across from him.

Ichigo shrugged. "Dunno. He just came over here and asked a really weird question before leaving."

That made her curious. "What did he ask?"

He took a bite out of his chicken. "How I get female attention, which I didn't even know about until he mentioned it. I guess I need to observe people's emotions better."

She nodded, though she was confused by the whole series of events and its outcome. "So Ichigo-kun, you said you didn't vote for yourself to be Class Rep, so who did you vote for?" Ikuyo asked, intruding on his personal space as she sat next to him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"I voted for Izumi, just because she has qualities important in a leader, and it probably would've helped her confidence if she had a position of authority. But, this was the next best outcome, so I'm happy."

He watched the greenette blush at his praise, though she kept a small smile on her face.

However, their conversation was cut off by the blare of security alarms, sending those untrained into a panic while the others were put on edge. "Hey!" He had to shout to get a third-year's attention, as people ran towards the exits with no concern for anyone else's safety. "What the hell is going on?" He asked the panicking man.

"It's a level three security breach! We've never had one of these for the three year's I've gone here!" He yelled back, before bolting into the crowd.

'Shit, that means people got past the wall! But who, and where are they?' He thought to himself, watching as more and more people were dragged into the crowd, including his friends.

'_Ichigo. I sense a large crowd outside the wall, most likely the press. There are already hero's deployed there to calm them down. You need to take care of this mosh-pit, otherwise, someone's going to get hurt! '_

Ichigo growled. 'I know, just give me a second.'

The crowd had been split into the two exits, but it would be impossible to calm one down while the other still rampaged. He would have to stop them all at once. Lucky for him, his spirit pressure had that capability. With a quick flash-step, he was in mid-air, in prime position to let his spirit energy loose and confirm that the crowd was just the media.

And with the flick of a mental switch, all of the commotions was halted as Ichigo exerted the bulk of his reserves. "**EVERYBODY CALM THE FUCK DOWN!" **His voice was heavy, louder than it had ever been, and he was pretty sure his vocal cords were bleeding. It succeeded in shutting them all up and bringing their attention to him. "**IT'S JUST THE MEDIA! THIS IS NO REASON TO PANIC LIKE A BUNCH OF CHILDREN! THIS IS UA GOD DAMN IT! SHOW A LITTLE MATURITY!"**

He resealed his reiatsu, releasing the heavy pressure on the crowds with a hiss from his bleeding throat. He probably didn't need to go as far as he did, but you never know. Someone could've gotten severely hurt.

"H-He's right, it really i-is just the news!" A random girl from one of UA's many general studies classes reaffirmed the nail in the coffin that put everyone's previously frantic minds at ease.

"Right then!" Iida stood up from under the pile of limp classmen, whipping out a megaphone from god knows where. "Let us exit the building in an orderly fashion and make UA proud!"

All in all, his first emergency evacuation hadn't gone so bad.

* * *

"What do you mean we could be placed under arrest! The gate was open, and it wasn't our fault!" A journalist from some unpopular, unimportant blog site objected for the umpteenth time, only fueling Shiho's irritation.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. "I mean, technically these guys are villains for crossing in without a pass." Her partner, Present Mic whispered. "Couldn't we just kick these guys out no problem?"

Shiho shook her head. "We could, but that would damage the image of us and UA. Just wait for Nezu and the police to get here."

"Hmph."

* * *

"Hey, Ichigo-kun. You doing okay?" A worried Ikuyo ran up to him, his right hand nursing his neck.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Kinda screwed up my throat though." His voice was rough, way more than it really should've been, but just talking kind of hurt. "I'll see if Recovery Girl has anything to soothe it."

His friend nodded. "Okay, but you probably shouldn't be speaking then. It'll only make it worse."

He shrugged, but took her advice and stayed silent. Following Yui's example should be easy enough. It would probably be difficult to communicate with her though… Eh. It should only last for a few hours anyway.

"Also, apparently classes are canceled, so the Representatives meeting is starting in about...5 minutes."

Oh, fuck his life.


	9. Chapter 8: Managed By Anger

"Good. Everyone's finally here." He heard his mother's voice as he entered the room, annoyed as it always seemed to be, though his being late should be excused. He had stopped a school-wide panic, after all.

That didn't stop him from getting the stink-eye while he moved to the open seat near his vice.

"I suppose a well done is in order, Ichigo Kurosaki. Your quick thinking halted any injuries to those in the cafeteria and throughout the school, though you didn't need to go as far as you did. Reports of your voice reached about a mile outside of UA grounds." Shiho reprimanded him, getting a stark nod in reply, though he was a little proud of himself. "Anyway, that isn't why we are here. You four were selected to represent the two Heroics classes, and I'm here to explain what that entails."

In his opinion, Shiho was probably the best teacher to give out lectures. And he had listened to a lot that day. She didn't beat around the bush, reflecting her 'no bullshit' attitude and making listening to the monotone responsibilities that much easier.

As the explanation went on, Ichigo realized that being the class rep was what he had presumed it to be. A glorified teacher's helper, though not without its perks. There were meetings every other Friday that got him out of his morning classes, no offense to Present Mic and Ectoplasm. He had access to the teacher's lounge, which he didn't benefit from, but it was a cool privilege to have.

And, his favorite, he was responsible for regulating the rules while the teachers weren't around. Including inside the dorms.

Now, he wasn't going to flaunt his authority, but it was nice to know that he could shut down any future...contentions between his classmates.

Especially ones that annoyed him.

* * *

(-)

* * *

Nozomi paced across her desk, tea-cup in her hand. "Someone else entered the building, Shiho, and it wasn't the press. UA has been infiltrated, and no-one knew until ten minutes ago."

The undercover hero leaned forward, arms on her knees as she covered her mouth with her interlaced hands. "What were they after? It must be unimportant if it took this long to figure out that they had gotten inside."

The small animal sat on the edge of her desk, feet hanging off the side. "We're not sure what they were after, but they entered one of our security rooms, where we keep our files and records, though nothing is missing. Nothing. The only reason we discovered it was a slight misstep on their part, one of the cameras catching a wisp of black smoke floating out from under the door. It's likely that they took pictures of whatever they were after, just so we wouldn't know what to expect. Whoever planned this was smart."

Shiho's hands migrated to her forehead, looking down at the ground. "Great. Smart villains are all this place needed." She rubbed the side of her eyes with her thumb. "How'd they get in though? They could be as smart as they wanted, they shouldn't be able to get past the wall without being detected."

Nozomi placed her tea down next to her, wiping off a small mustache that had found itself present on her face. "Warp quirk, and a powerful one at that. It got them in and out of the facility seamlessly, not a trace left behind if you don't include the smoke. We're not even sure if the two are related in any capacity."

Well, that was fantastic. Who knew what they were up to now.

"So then. What's the plan wise-one?"

There was the smirk. The one she oh-so loathed. Probably because whatever came out of Nozomi's mouth after it went against her better nature.

"Absolutely nothing. Continue as normal, but add an additional hero to every classroom lesson. This could be a chance to nip this weed of a problem at its root."

"You want to ambush the villains? What kind of ingenious monster are you?"

"One who cares very little about the suffering of those who attempt to tear down my fine establishment."

* * *

(2 weeks later)

* * *

He had never been one to look forward to class field-trips throughout his years in school, but the upcoming 'surprise' trip to the USJ? It was on the bearable side of things and actually had him a little excited. No one but himself, excluding Momo, who had been at the same meeting where he learned of it, had any idea of the trip happening. It was just one of the perks of being an elected official.

And that was why Zangetsu was strapped to his back, though he had enough sense to conceal its pitch-black blade with white bandages. He was pretty sure having an unsealed weapon, that was directly connected to his quirk, on University Grounds would get him into some sort of trouble.

And apparently, carrying it around at all pissed off certain explosive classmates of his, who seem to just enjoy being mad. "Why the fuck do you have that shitty sword with you? We did combat training yesterday dumbass."

"I don't need to explain it to you, midget." His eyes remained ahead of him, knowing it would piss her off just that much more.

"I guess you don't, Carrot-Top! And quit callin' me a midget!" She growled, but she continued to walk next to him until they entered the already filled classroom. He blamed his mild lateness of the failure of his alarm clock.

"Hey, Ichigo." He heard Eiko poke at the heavy metal weapon, her hardened finger giving off a light ring as the two connected. "Why'd you bring your sword to school? I thought we did battle training yesterday, with all the robots and the flags and stuff. "

"We did, but I can't really explain why I have it. Aizawa will explain it when she gets here, and she'll give a much summary than I can." He caught notice of the time, leaning against his desk. "Speaking of which, she should be entering in about…3 seconds."

The class looked over to the door, with it opening after the allotted time passed and revealing a fully geared Shiho Aizawa. It didn't make her look any less tired. Let it never be said that his mother was a morning person. "Good to see that you all know how to be quiet when class is starting. Keep it that way for a moment, if you don't mind." She sighed as she pulled out a list of things to address.

"Today, Heroic Studies and Training class will be taking up the entirety of the day. You shouldn't have to worry about your other subjects, as they have already been informed. The class will be led by myself, All-Might, and one more person, just to keep things moving throughout the afternoon."

Surprise and excitement filled the class, the implications of an all Heroics day not lost on any of them. "Excuse me!" Hana raised her hand to garner Shiho's attention. "What'll we be doing for such a long time? There isn't a lot of things that would take that long, especially when it comes to heroics."

"Good question." Shiho rubbed some sleep from her eye. "During your time at UA, the Hero Course has been taught to you through Combat Training. Today's method, however, is Rescue Training. Any half-minded hero-in-training knows that being a hero is more than just subduing villains. There are also more natural causes for a hero to need to go to work, such as rockslides, monsoons, sinking boats. That is what we are going to be focusing on today."

Izumi raised her hand. "Is that why we're leaving campus? Because the campus can't supply that experience?"

A nod was given as a reply. "Rational observation Midoriya. The UA school-grounds, while able to provide a multitude of different terrains, aren't able to recreate those types of experiences, or at least not to the extent we look for. That's why we are going to the USJ, or the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. For those unfamiliar, I will explain on the way there. For now, though, we need to get moving. Put on either your PE clothes or wear your hero costume, whichever one works best."

She placed her summary of the USJ in her scarf. "Now! Meet me in front of the main entrance in 15 minutes!"

"YES, MA'AM!

She made a mental note on the improvement of their responses.

* * *

"Jeez, they still haven't fixed it?"

He didn't think of himself as someone who complains often. Especially when people poured their time and effort into something, like his costume. They had made it with utility in mind, though managed to keep its look similar to his original idea. Still, they had yet to loosen up the straps on his chest, even when he had made a specific request for them to do so. It bothered him way more than it should, but he had given them two weeks to fix. He knew they were built by the Support classes, so maybe he would visit them, whenever he got the time.

The bus they were taking to the USJ was about as nice as you could expect it to be, which more than made up for the slight discomfort of his costume. It wouldn't have been too hard to fall asleep, given the amount of space provided. Of course, that would be if he could ignore the other 21 people on the bus, and if he had been tired. "Hey, Ichigo-kun?" His eyes lazily slid across to his right side and onto Eiko, who had gotten closer to him without his knowledge. "Has anyone said that your quirk is kinda like All-Might's? Like, you're super strong! Oh, and you can fly!"

He shrugged. "Not really. I've always been compared to my dad instead of him. Besides, other than having enhanced strength, I don't see much else in common between our quirks."

Her eyes lit up with recognition. "I guess so. Also, your dad is Shinigami, right." He nodded, as she sat in the open seat next to him, where his arm had been resting above. "I bet it's cool to have a quirk you know can take you far, as long as you train it right." Eiko complimented, looking down at her hardened hand. "I'm not sure mine will get all that much attention, even though it's useful. It's just not flashy."

"I dunno." He stared at her hand, watching the jagged edges recede. "I've seen a lot of really good heroes with quirks that don't really seem useful or practical, let alone flashy. I know I'm lucky to have my quirk, but I also know that I had to work my ass off to get it to the level I wanted." He lifted his own hand, which was covered in a multitude of small scars. He could thank Yoruichi for those.

Eiko seemed to have understood what he was saying but still looked a little doubtful. "And hey, being a hero is more than just your quirk. You could have a quirk like Bakugo's, but if you also have her shitty personality, you won't be going far." He told her with a smirk, which succeeded in garnering a laugh from those who heard him.

"Oi fuck you, Kurosaki!" He dodged a small booklet aimed at his head. "My personality is kickass!"

"Yeah, if you call a dumpster-fire kickass!" He shot back, sparking one of their world-class insult matches.

Almost as world-class as his cooking.

"Shut it. We're here, so show some manners."

As the bus slowed to a halt, they filed out of the vehicle without trouble and formed an easily manageable group for himself, Momo, and Shiho to monitor. The addition of the hero walking out of the USJ would make it that much easier. Speaking of which, fuck was that thing huge! It had to be about 2 miles in diameter, and it's dark grey, dome-like roof sat higher than most of the skyscrapers in Musutafu. Which was pretty damn high.

UA really did have shit-loads of money.

"_Ah, is this the group of young heroes I've been waiting for?"_ A slightly processed voice filtered out of the baggy, space-suit inspired costume that housed the teacher for their current lesson and pro-hero, Thirteen. _"You all look like a promising bunch! It'll be nice to formally meet you all!"_

He heard Izumi and Ochako fawn over the hero from a little further back in the group. He had always heard from his father that Thirteen had the most maternal aura out of any hero he knew. That was excluding his birth-mother, of course, but it was still quite the title. She definitely had a soothing voice, no matter how fake it sounded._ "I am the pro-hero Thirteen, known as the Black Hole hero. We can get to know each other better as the day goes on, but for now, welcome to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint!"_ She clicked a button on her remote, opening the massive red double doors that sat behind her and allowing them all to walk in.

Course, they were all quite stupified by the sheer size and structure of the USJ. _"What are you all waiting for? It won't bite, I swear!"_

Aw. He could kinda get used to her being around.

The class all followed her in, Izumi and Ochako heading the pack as they chatted with the rescue hero about her admittedly amazing feats, of which there were many. Ichigo's favorite, which he had come across when his father mentioned her and made him do some research, had been the time when she saved hundreds of people from the collapse of a building. It had been a relatively small and old building, but the problem wasn't it's age. The issue was that it wasn't built under the codes and regulations of construction law.

This led to a major collapse in its structural integrity, and almost crashed down on a New-Years festival taking place in the land plot next to it.

However, in a display of pure skill, she managed to swallow all the building's rubble before it hit the ground, as well as avoid swallowing the few people who had been in the structure. Then, she managed to sue the construction company for a tens-of-millions of dollars and donated it to the cause of the families involved.

All in all, she seemed to be a great person. One deserving more than the 23rd spot in the Hero Rankings.

As they arrived at the stairwell that dipped down into the basin of the USJ, Thirteen stopped them to deliver an explanation of the day's plans. _"As I'm sure Erasure-Head explained, today we will be focusing on Rescue Training! Some quirks just aren't built for fighting villains, but rescuing people is even more important than that! With my quirk, I'm unable to participate in battles with villains because it poses too much danger to them. Black Hole is a very versatile quirk, but it's also very deadly. As important as it is that the villains are stopped, we don't want to kill anyone."_

Her tone was infected by wistful regret. _"The hero business is dangerous, even to the villains. There will be a time in your life that there will be someone you cannot save. Someone just outside your reach. Oftentimes, that is the cause of resignation for young heroes who haven't been prepared. But, we must keep moving forward. There are far too many people within our branch of influence to let that feeling stop us from saving a hundred more!"_

_"And that is why we have Rescue training! Oftentimes, your call to action will be unrelated to just battling the bad guy and will involve a different type of disaster. The USJ is meant to simulate that to the best of its abilities, but always remember that it is just a simulation. Out there, it will be much harder, and the actions you take will have consequences. The key to being a good hero? Control! I know some of you have unruly quirks, but with a little practice, you will be an important part of any hero team!"_ She managed to take their emotional wheel, and spin it at about 400 rpm.

He was starting to feel dizzy.

_"Now, let's introduce all the disasters we will be working with today!"_ There were a select few cheers that reached her ears, encouraging her further.

She pointed her gauntleted finger directly to their left._ "To the east, the Landslide-Zone!"_

_"On its leftward flank, the Ruins-Zone! Also used to simulate earthquakes!"_

_"Dead ahead, the Mountain-Range-Zone!"_

_"To the southeast, the Conflagration, or better known, Urban-Fire-Zone!"_

_"Due-East, the Flood-Zone, or Overflow-Zone!"_

_"And last, but far from least, the Downpour-Zone!"_

_"Each one of these will replicate a specific set of circumstances similar to the real world! They will give you an idea of what to do, but do not expect them to replicate them in their full capacity. Now! Excuse me as I talk to Eraserhead for a moment! We will begin once we are finished!"_

As she dismissed herself and their other teacher, Ichigo leaned over the railing to their left, looking into the simulated Landslide. 'I thought they said All-Might was going to be here. Hope he didn't forget, the big oaf…' He thought to himself, staring down at the empty disaster-land...only to watch as a dark purple portal ripped a tear in space right where he had been looking and let out some far-from-friendly looking people out into the east-most zone.

'Probably part of the training…?' He muttered to himself, but his instincts roared a completely different thought.

'**DANGER!**'

A multitude of identical portals erupted across the man-made landscape, though the bulk was clearly focused on the Main Plaza. "Woah! I thought we were just doing rescue training, but this looks cool as hell! Whoever dressed those guys up, give them a raise!"

The rest of the class looked down, a few nodding in agreement.

Ichigo watched Shiho's reaction as she caught sight of the fake villains, though her face convinced him that they were far from fake.

There were villains inside the USJ.

Shiho's goggles quickly came on as she and Thirteen readied themselves. "EVERYONE GET BACK! THESE ARE REAL VILLAINS! THIRTEEN, PROTECT THE STUDENTS!"

Her voice was dominating, loud, yet muffled as her scarf tightened up in its battle-ready, terse form. His sword quickly came off his back. "On it Eraserhead!"

_**"Ah. Here we are."**_ A ghastly dark cloud of mist, larger than any of the others opened itself on the plaza grounds. Its voice barely managed to reach his ears. _**"It's rude for us to just assert our presence, but allow me the honor in introducing ourselves to you, heroes."**_ A scrawny, deathly pale man exited the portal covered in dismembered hands. He seemed to be the closest thing to a leader, from how the others looked, or more accurately, directly avoided looking at him.

What followed him out seemed inapplicably more intimidating.

It stood with a stature comparable to the Number One hero's, even with the ugly slouch in its back. Dark purple skin hid dangerously bulky muscles as they seemed to strain at their mere existence, the level of strength displayed clearly unnatural. Its face was morphed into a harshly disfigured shape, a yellow, bird-like beak encasing eerily sharp teeth that were marred into an uneasy smile. The worst part? Its exposed brain, housing two empty, dead eyes that seemed to stare endlessly at nothing.

He hoped, for the suffering that was being placed on that body, that it wasn't alive.

A third villain exited the portal, and its eyes met his own the second it fully emerged. The body of the villain was a hulking mass of death, even bigger than the other nightmare-fuel. Their lower-face was covered by a white mask that stopped where their mouth was, revealing a set of obscenely large teeth that enclosed another much smaller set. The torso and legs of the villain were covered in a green fur that was also used as a sort of cape, covering its backside and sheathing an equally large sword.

Two ram-like tusks shot out of the side of its head, their point of contact covered by the green fur on its ears, giving the sharply shaped head a vicious way of attack. Their arms seemed human enough, as bulbous as they might be.

He almost puked when he saw the cauterized hole in its chest, piercing all the way through its heaving body. Vital organs, like the heart, lungs, practically the entire digestive system, just missing. It was bone-chilling watching whatever 'that' was, functioning in any capacity.

_**"We are, the League Of Villains."**_ The final villain showed its face, or lack thereof, as the purple mass relocated into one body, centered around a pair of wispy yellow eyes. They almost gave him deja-vu, for some reason.

_**"What is our goal, you might ask yourself? Simple. Kill the Symbol of Peace and everything he stands for!"** _He felt everyone who had been behind him stagger backward a small way. _**"Speaking of which...I only see Thirteen and Eraserhead. The schedule said he would be here...perplexing."**_

The fear imprinted on the faces of his classmates told him many things. First of which being that they had been far from prepared to deal with any villains.

The lanky villain scratched at his neck, slouched over in disappointment. "Where is he…" He mumbled, his hoarse voice sounding depressed. "I went through all the trouble of gathering this useless crowd, and the Symbol of Peace isn't here…I wonder if he'd show up if we killed a couple of kids?"

_**"I'm sure that would garner at least a little attention."**_

"Plus, I'm sure it would be entertaining to watch."i

With the flick of a pale wrist, the hoarde of villains started to race up the stairs. "There's n-no way that there are villains h-here! What about the T-Trespasser-Sensors?" Eiko stuttered out as Shiho's scarf flailed wildly, preparing to intercept the large crowd of villains.

_**"I'm sure they're disabled. One of those villains probably has a quirk that disabled all communication in and out of here."**_ Thirteen analyzed. _**"These guys aren't stupid. They planned this out with a specific goal in mind."**_

Ichigo cut in. "Yeah, they're trying to take down All-Might! The damn Symbol of Peace and they're trying to kill him!" He turned to Shiho, who was already prepared to jump into the fray. "And I know what you're thinking! Don't tell me you think you're going down there on your own because from what I can tell, that is far from rational!"

Eraserhead growled. "Ichigo, I'm not asking. Follow Thirteen and get the hell out of here."

"I'm not asking either! Do you know what I would do if Yuzu and Karin lost their mom for a second time?" He grabbed her arm. "Do you know what I would do when I have to watch them cry! When I have to hold them, tell them everything's going to be alright because Isshin will be too out of it to do it for them?" He squeezed a little harder than he meant to. "Because I sure as hell don't.

She looked at him with eyes that screamed anger. She was pleading for him to reconsider, but he stared back in a way that told her it would be a wasted effort. "Fucking problem child." She muttered, shrugging his hand off. "Thirteen, get the rest of the students out of here. Kurosaki and I will hold these guys off."

The space hero nodded. "Right! Let's move it! Out the door we came in from, let's GO GO GO!"

Izumi didn't budge. "W-Wait! Ichigo and Aizawa are outnumbered by the hundreds! Are we really just going to leave them?"

She felt a hand fall on her shoulder, belonging to the Black-Hole hero. _"If there's one thing I've learned from working with Aizawa is that you don't argue with a Kurosaki. They'll be fine, but we need to get out of here. We'll only be in the way if we stay here."_

She wasn't convinced in the slightest but watching as the two jumped off the platform and down the stairs, she realized that there wasn't much they could do. "Y-Yeah, okay…"

* * *

"Alright, Problem-Child. Cover my back, don't do anything stupid!" Eraserhead told him as they were about half-way down the stairs.

"Can do, Dry-Eyes."

He knew he should've been nervous or scared. He probably should be pissing himself but in reality? He was excited. Way more than he should be. "Making first contact! Stay close!"

And that officially marked the start of the USJ Incident.

The multitude of villains who had been foolish enough to run up the stairs were cleared out in a second, a few swipes of Aizawa's scarf knocking them down onto the ground below. They probably broke the bulk of their bones when they hit the cement below, but it was hard to feel bad. They were trying to kill everyone in the building, after all.

But, for such a seemingly organized group with a plan that had been viewed as concrete, something was off. There were bullets, lasers, about any type of projectile you could think of if he were being honest, being fired at them. Yet, one out of ten got within about ten feet of their general area, and that was being generous. It was like the villains that had entered the USJ were nothing but common street thugs...which, given their sheer numbers, probably wasn't too far off.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, there was no hesitation between their landing and their next move, both splitting up to dispatch as many as possible. He had to be a little too careful for his liking, a single swing of his cleaver probably having the ability to kill an untrained grunt.

Course, that didn't mean he went easy on them.

His first opponent threw a haymaker, which he ducked with ease before inverting their right knee with a heavy kick. As they crumpled over him, he threw their over-sized body at a small group of three men, each of which having a quirk that worked at range instead of up close. They were sequentially buried under the hulking man-mass.

He let his foot sweep under another thug who had charged him, knocking her off her feet before knocking her out with a quick jab of his hilt into her temple before she hit the ground. His eyes flicked over to his mother to see how she was doing, which he realized pretty quickly that the villains were highly outclassed. They couldn't even touch her, and she wasn't using her quirk in any capacity. That was just her hand to hand combat skills showing through.

Once he assured himself that she was fine, he returned his attention to his group of under-trained thugs. He lowered his grip on his hilt to the chain below, sending the blade careening into the thigh of a rather scrawny villain with the flick of his wrist and tearing it back out with another.

It felt like he was fighting a bunch of meth-heads if he was to compare it to something.

After clearing out a good dozen of fodder villains, Ichigo looked around the plaza, eyeing down the leader of the villains. He wasn't distressed, even though his 'army' was being taken down by the ten-fold. That was when he realized that, both the wispy villain with the warp quirk and the behemoth with the hole in its chest had split off from him.

He quickly located the warp villain, as he was floating over the entrance where his classmates had escaped. Or at least, he hoped they escaped. He couldn't see, because of the angle he was at.

That left him to look for the other, more immediate threat. He searched everywhere within his sight, not seeing the 'creature' even with his advanced vision.

'Where the hell is this guy…' His mind raced as he attempted to locate any sign of the furred villain. Not above, to the east, north, south or even the west. He was clueless to the location of such a giant villain. That was until he felt a spirit pressure clash with his own.

He tried to turn around and face where the pressure came from, his torso only getting halfway through its rotation before a clawed foot landed on the side of his head and kicked him across the concrete ground. His body carved a path in the cement, coming to a sharp halt as he dug his sword into the earth.

Christ did his head hurt.

**"Oh? Didn't expect a lowly hero-in-training to survive one of my attacks, let alone get back up so quickly. Not to mention this spirit energy. Ah, you would have made such a good meal back in my youth."**

His eyes locked with the monsters for a second time, getting a glimpse of the pure ego and wickedness that define his being. "What in the hell are you, you sick freak." He growled out, dust and dirt falling off his body as he stood up..

The thing gave out a disturbing belly laugh, a bolstering vein finding its home on Ichigo's forehead. **"I suppose I should introduce myself to one of the last Soul Reapers alive, as a homage to our pasts."** His grin would give the Cheshire Cat competition. **"I am the Hollow known as the Gran/d Fisher. One of the last of our kind, actually, and I do find it to be a pleasure to be meeting you, young Soul Reaper."**

"It's Ichigo Kurosaki, and I have no clue what the hell you're talking about. Hollows? Soul Reapers? Sorry, but I'm not part of your shitty roleplay." Ichigo let his spirit energy buffet down on the landscape around him, the air becoming unbreathably thick.

The Hollow's demeanor didn't change, still grinning like a mad-man. "**Oh? Of course, you have my apologies. I should've guessed that you weren't informed about your heritage." ** His hand waved haphazardly. **"You should ask your dear-old-dad about it sometime. But then again, that's assuming you make it out of here alive!"**

Ichigo spat out the blood that had slowly pooled in his mouth. "Yeah-yeah-yeah. Enough monologuing already, let's just do this!"

The midnight blade coruscated an irradiant blue glow as he initiated their first clash, his feet imprinting on the Earth as he cascaded himself forward. The hollow, in its surprise, managed to draw its sword at the last second, narrowly blocking the overhead slash that threatened to cleave its way through his right arm. The strength of the attempted laceration forced the tip of his blade down towards the ground as he bounced back, a small gash left in the dirt as his sword dragged on the ground.

He wasn't left with time to regather himself, a streak of firey energy striking his chest with unpredicted force and staggering him backward. **"That was Kido, wasn't it?" **The Grand Fisher questioned, looking down at the singed fur. **"So you must have contact with Soul Reapers who were alive during the time of the Soul Society. That it's awfully rare, as the amount of those could be counted on my two hands."** A glare filled with anticipation and excitement was shot at Ichigo. **"I'll have to pay them a visit later on."**

The fisher caught his responsive slash using one of his tusks, almost dislocating his wrist when the weapon was twisted and pulled in an attempt to disarm him. The forward momentum from the failed maneuver led him into a combat roll, shoulder falling on his sword for just a moment as he caught the unguarded tusk between his calves before finishing his revolution, the head the tusk was connected to consecutively being leveraged into the ground.

"Shut the fuck up." He denoted, the white spire of spiritually hardened dentine and ivory pinned beneath his sandal. "You're giving me a headache."

This brat...had the audacity...the impertinence to say that to him? That would just not do. He would teach the boy some manners!

With an inhuman roar, the reaper was flung off his incising tooth, though he landed on his feet with a backflip. Cocky bastard. His sword, which had been resting on the ground, was shifted to his side, reinforcing his grip with both hands before dashing wildly towards the hero-in-training. Only to have the building-cleaving swipe of his sword met with an equally powerful slash. Their blades quickly separated, though they were quick to find each other once more and split just as fast.

**"I sense that your classmates have been split up all over this institution…"** He mocked, dodging a particularly strong slash to his chest. **"Maybe I'll play with them after I'm done with you!"**

His laughs were cut off as a heel dug into his gut. "For someone so talkative, you've yet to do anything worth remarking on." The blunt side of Ichigo's sword slammed into his cheek, causing him to stumble backward.

When the hollow grunted acknowledgment, Ichigo started his assault again, snapping his blade forward like a bullet was fired from a gun. The Grand Fisher, with a lazy swipe of his tusk, parried it to his left, following the sword as it was whipped back to the owner. Ichigo was forced to duck under a slash at his head, his sword reaching him a moment later than the Hollow, arriving just in time to block a straight kick to his stomach.

The kick made Ichigo slide back a few feet, which he cleared in less than a millisecond as he spotted an opening, delivering a deep slash across the hollow's thigh, inches away from cutting the tendon that gave his leg function. Grand Fisher tried to kick away, jumping back and warding Ichigo away with a wild slash of his sword, but once again Ichigo was on him within a moment. His sword met with the Fisher's blade, sparks flying as the edges ground against each other.

"You know, when you and the others showed up, I was a little bit wary of how strong you would be." Ichigo snarled, his body weight pressed against his weapon. "But you're weak, way weaker than you should be for as much as you talk!"

The Hollow, for the second time since he'd arrived, stopped smiling. **"How dare you call me weak, you pathetic little brat! I am the great Grand Fisher! I've barely shown you a fraction of my power! I could have this entire league bow to me!"** He raged, shoving Ichigo's Zanpaktou away and backing up. **"Watch as I show you the true might of the Hollow King!"**

…

For a moment, Ichigo was sure he had been stalling, not feeling or seeing a change in...anything. Then, he noticed that the monster had started to grow bigger.

Dangerously bigger.

It started slowly but quickly became a rapid expansion of his body mass. He grew taller and taller, seeming becoming bulkier and stiffer, until stopping at about 60 feet tall, his sword matching the height of the hollow in length. **"See now, the difference between you and I? I kill hundreds of puny humans under my foot, like ants! Destroy skyscrapers with a swipe of my sword! Yet, here you stand, barely reaching my ankle in height! How comedic!"**

He was probably visible to about anyone in the building at his height, eyeline reaching above the peaks of the mountain zone without difficulty. Ichigo heard Shiho yell from behind him, but he stopped her with a thumbs up. He was stoic, maybe a little angry, but overall unimpressed. His mass had increased, yes, but the spirit pressure and energy that were emitted by his body had remained the same. So, in reality, the transformation seemed useless.

That was until the blade was swung at him, which he had seen, but had pushed off as futile, the several tonnes of additional force moving behind the sword impacting his own sword. The result had been his body being flung into the staircase at the speeds of a truck, knocking the air out of him and breaking a rib. Probably a few ribs.

**"Ahaha! Such a fool, to even attempt to block my attack! Do you not see the size and power I currently possess? Boy, you truly are outmatched!"**

He probably shouldn't have underestimated the transformation as much as he did, or at least, that's what his side was telling him. Still, it was a puny transformation.

Ichigo shrugged the rubble off. "One attack. That's all it's going to take for me to incapacitate you." He said a confident grin on his face as a familiar aura shrouded him. "And, with your size, you aren't dodging shit."

Zangetsu started to vibrate with sheer energy, a radiant heat bursting off the weapon and the user. Ichigo's eyes bristled with light as he watched fear seep into the giant's expression, reacting to the skyrocketing spirit energy coming from the Soul Reaper. The hollow even started to back up as the weapon was hoisted above Ichigo's head. **"W-Wait! You're a hero, right? You wouldn't kill me! You couldn't!"**

"It won't kill you. It'll just hurt really, really bad." He disappeared from where he was standing, unobservable for a second before appearing at chest-level with the behemoth.

"Getsuga Tensho!" His spirit shook as the blue crescent was ejected from his blade, growing as tall as the Fisher's torso before making contact with his chest. In an eruption of blue light, the attack cut deep into the hollow's thorax, creating a cut that went over the already present hole.

Ichigo had watched for a moment, the hollow attempting to nurse the wound as spirit energy seeped out in the masses.

The massive injury, the leaking spirit energy. The skyscraper of a body couldn't sustain itself, evident by the laborious breathing and stumbling movements.

"**No-no-no… There's no way you beat me!"** He muttered, hand over his bleeding breast. **"I have lived for centuries longer than you! This should be impossible!" **Blood splattered down onto the ground.** "I'm the King of Hollows! I refuse to fall like this!" **He continued to spout, taking a few weak steps before collapsing face first, in front of the triumphant Ichigo.

...And now his head hurt. And he was tired.

"That's one of the four down…" He told himself, standing straight as he looked down at the Fisher. Or rather, about eye level. He was 60 feet tall, after all. "Stay here, I guess? I doubt you're going anywhere anytime soon."

He rubbed the back of his head. "Now, to regroup with Shiho."

* * *

(-)

* * *

Shigaraki was pissed. Today was going so wrong, and he hated it. First, his coffee hadn't been prepared right, though he knew he had ordered perfectly. The kid was lucky he left the store before tasting it.

Second, All-Might hadn't shown up like he was supposed to. Seriously, the Symbol of Peace couldn't even be on time? Just another reason to hate him. Tear everything he loved to the ground. Was that too far? He didn't think so. Not far enough, if you asked him.

Then, Kurogiri had let one of the kids escape, and now, the guy Sensei had personally recruited was on the floor, knocked out by a student who was so much stronger than he had any right to be! Absolute bullshit, right?

Well, at least he still had Nomu. Nomu wouldn't fail him like all the others did. "Tomura."

"What. Now. Kurogiri." His throat felt parched, chapped as his voice sounded more strangled than usual. He sounded like he smoked packs of cigarettes on the daily.

"We need to take out the two down here at the plaza already. They've taken out most of our troops, not to mention the Grand Fisher." Kurogiri told him, acting like he was stupid. He knew they needed to be killed. That's what he had planned on doing.

"That worthless mini-boss is nothing compared to Nomu. None of these guys are even close enough to his level to scratch him." He declared, watching as the monster heaved breaths into its chest. "And I think it's about time we let him loose, don't you?"

Break

"Hey, Izumi! That was a great plan you came up with!" A super-soaked Ikuyo complimented, carrying both of her green-haired classmates as they floated away from the Overflow-Zone, a massive whirlpool left in their wake.

"I-I don't know…You guys did everything!" She countered, he usually fluffy hair drooping with moisture. Her plan almost failed, so she refused to take credit for their success.

Tsuyu, however, wasn't having it. "You made us work together. That's the only reason we got out. Kero." Her padded finger poked at Izumi's cheek several times.

Pink dusted her face. "I mean…i-if you guys think so…"

"Yep! We sure do!"

"Yeah."

She felt she had no room to argue, giving in as she placed her head against Ikuyo's back. She liked having friends. "Hey! There's Ichigo and Aizawa!" She heard Ikuyo point out. "And that one really big villain we saw early is on the ground! I think Ichigo beat him, which is super hot-blooded!"

Her eyes peeked over Ikuyo's shoulder, the wet fur on the hood of her coat making it a little hard, but she managed to confirm all of the sightings, amazed at the sheer size of the villain, even more so that Ichigo managed to beat it. It reminded her of how she beat the Zero Pointer, during the exam.

Thoughts aside, they probably could land down on the plaza and help them out with the rest of the villains! For how much everyone was worried, they seemed to be getting out pretty safely!

She just wondered for a moment.

'Where'd the big purple guy go?'

* * *

(-)

* * *

Shiho cursed under her breath. "How many more of these fuckers are there?"

Her roundhouse-kick knocked out a villain, one of what seemed to be a group of thousands. She was probably exaggerating, but you got the point. There were just so many that she had put on their asses, but they were immediately replaced by another who was just as eager to fight. Just as shitty too.

Her eyes had started to hurt, and she could feel a headache starting. She shook her head to shake away the cloudiness of her brain, absent-mindedly breaking the nose of a thug with her scarf, his consciousness evaporating in an instant. "I really /need to upgrade my suit…" She muttered to herself, prepared to take on another wave of idiots.

Only, they weren't looking at her. They had their backs turned, watching as bodies were thrown up and away from the crowd without care. They had even started to walk towards her, in hopes of getting away from whatever the hell that was. What the hell would even cause them to do that?

"Get the hell out of my way you wannabe-villains!"

Ah.

That explained some.

That explained a lot, really.

She managed to see the top of the person's bright orange hair as they charged through the crowd of goons, bursting through the final wall and making their official appearance as the thugs were sent flying over his head. "What the hell are you doing, problem child!"

Ichigo looked at her, clearly irked by her statement as he pointed an accusing finger. "I'm just trying to survive out here, alright! Everyone got split-up around the USJ, and now I have no clue what to do! I was planning on taking your stupid ass and dragging you out of here, but I can't exactly do that anymore!"

Shiho's expression became serious, almost fearful. "So no one has gotten out?!"

Ichigo shrugged. "Probably not? I don't know!"

Her face became uneasy, strained almost, as she looked towards the ground. "We have to assume they didn't, meaning that we won't have any help, back-up, or emergency relief." She stared him dead in the eye, or at least he assumed, her goggles hiding her eyes. "Ichigo. We're alone here."

He shrugged, unworried. "I'm not sure we need back-up. I took down a guy who said he was the strongest out of all of them, so we should be fine." He reassured her, looking back at the crowd of fodder. "I think all we need to worry about is getting the class to regroup and make sure that no one's in critical condition."

Aizawa opened her mouth to criticize his naivete.

But the words never left her mouth. They stood stuck in her throat as a disgustingly muscled fist plowed into the boy in front of her, punching with enough force to splinter a steel beam. His body went limp against the fist, sending him surging across the USJ before being buried in one of the cement walls that bordered the mountain zone. She didn't even have time to look at the creature before it was gone again, upon Ichigo within a moment as it grabbed his arm and flung him back to where he had just been launched.

Watching him scrape against the ground, sliding uselessly against the rough cement, a bar of rebar sticking through his abdomen. For the first time in her life, she couldn't think logically. His chest continued to rise and fall, the air still making it past his bloodied and dislocated jaw, though it was dangerously sporadic. What would be buried in her mind, was his eyes. They sat void of their warm confidence, filled with unreadable emotions she had never seen on his face.

She never thought a single punch could do that to her boy. Could break down everything her son had built over the course of his life.

"Hehe! I thought that you could've been a little more entertaining than that! I guess the Grand Whatever was just that useless!" She heard the laughs of the villain labeled as Shigaraki as they pointed at Ichigo's limp body. "Nomu! Stop for a moment! Let him watch as you take out Eraserhead! It'll crush him that much more!" She watched its empty eyes zero in on her, pupils shrinking like an owl's when subjected to bright light.

Her rage must have enhanced her senses to some odd and impossible degree because she managed to react to the creature's attack fast enough to dodge the bone-breaking power. Her quirk activated to its highest level, clearing the effects of any quirk in her vision as she wrapped her steel-woolen scarf around its wrist. "Don't you **EVER**." She pulled the purple arm behind it, placing her feet on its back as she grabbed the other arm. "**Touch. My. Son**."

And she pulled.

_Hard._

Shigaraki could hear its bones creak under the enormous pressure placed on its joints, shoulders slowly receding out of their sockets. Shiho felt the fibers that tethered its arms to its shoulders breaking, the muscled cordage straining beyond any reasonable point. Until there was a deafening rip.

All the built-up pressure found itself released in a second's notice, the arms of the Nomu slowly tearing off as Eraserhead jumped from its back. There were a few connected strings of sinews, but they would be considered, 'removed' by most medical experts. There weren't even stumps left, leaving the thing bleeding profusely out of its empty shoulder-sockets. Its ribcage was probably visible, ignoring the blood.

"Fuck," She dropped its arms without another thought, falling lifelessly to the ground. "_You._" She spat down at its fallen body, her bleeding eyes closing and deactivating her quirk as she ran towards her son.

Her own footsteps deafened her ears as she ran weakly, her energy coming close to spent as she stumbled towards him.

She didn't even get half-way before the sound of muscle meshing and rebuilding stopped her dead in her tracks. Her eyes peeked over her shoulder for just a moment, seeing the leviathan reattach its arms as it stood up. Like nothing had happened. She had ripped its arms off, and it stood up as if nothing happened. It had bled at least two gallons of its disgusting blood…

Yet it stood up as if nothing had happened.

"You should see your face!" Shigaraki howled, arms clutched on his stomach. "Nomu has four quirks, one of which being super-regeneration! You'll never be able to hurt it fast enough because it will always regenerate whatever you do! AHAHAHA-AHA!" He started hiccuping from laughing so hard.

She stared at the scarred menace as it turned around, fear collapsing into her features as its eyes instantly pinpointed her location.

This time, she was too tired to do anything, a grizzled hand clasping around her throat and gripping with just enough force to put her neck on the verse of burst. She heard Ichigo's gargled yell, but it was blocked out by the blood rushing to her head. Her heartbeat pounded in her head, hands clawing at the limb with no success, futilely trying to get air into her lungs.

So, this was how she died huh?

Damn...

She knew old age was wishful thinking.

* * *

(-)

* * *

Zangetsu wasn't one for tears, but it seemed fitting. He had never seen Ichigo so deaf. Though, from rage instead of fear. He'd never felt the rain pour as hard as it did. He'd never seen a world flood so quickly.

Tears fell from his cheeks as he realized it would be the last time he would be able to speak to his companion, and he was deaf to whatever he was going to say. 'Ichigo…" His voice was choked. 'Did you know, that I've watched you throughout your entire life? It would be comparable to what you would call a movie, but if it stretched on for over eighteen years.' A sad laugh escaped his mouth. 'To think that I've only been able to speak to you for less than a year. You probably don't care all that much for me.'

He sighed, feeling defeated. 'I know I'm a little too hopeful when I say that we'll see each other again. Maybe a reincarnation, but not me. I don't even mind all that much. It just pains me to tear away all of your progress from you. Make your understanding like that of a mere child once more.' He frowned. 'And this time, I will not be there to guide you. I pray that whatever being replaces me holds the same interest in moving forward as I did.'

'I hope you understand why I'm ripping this away from you. Your potential shall only grow with this setback. He'll make sure of that.'

'Goodbye, Ichigo. I hope to see you in another life.'

And, by tearing off the mask that sat on the left side of his face, a white liquid burst out across the world.

It sat, empty for a moment. An empty void of white, before red, started to leak into its colorless canvas, like a drop of food coloring in water.

**'...Damn. First time being conscious and I gotta save your ass, King? I gotta pick up the slack with whatever that guy was teaching you.'**

**'Oh well.'**

**'What can you do.'**

Break

She was paralyzed.

Izumi couldn't describe it in any way other than that.

Paralyzed.

She wanted to run in, her legs shaking and twitching as they tried to get her to fight that thing. The thing that made their teacher and her strongest classmate look like nothing but practice dummies. Her heartbeat at a dangerous rate, blood pumping through her body at an accelerated rate as it prepared to give its all to save the people in need, right in front of her. People within her reach.

But she couldn't.

Just by looking at the creature, fear managed to seep into her previously untouchable desire to save people, halting all her instincts and telling her to run. Run like hell.

But she couldn't even do that, barely managing to stay up on her two feet as her throat inhaled burning air.

"I'm sorry, mom." A lonesome apology, too quiet to be heard by even her ears escaped her dry lips. Her hands gripped into fists, her right foot sliding back a short distance

"I don't think I'll be able to give you grandkids like I promised."

And with a burst or untapped adrenaline, her mind went numb as her legs burst to life. Her rapid footsteps thundered in her ears, One-For-All surging through her body at an unknown percent, much higher than her 1% cap.

She watched the mutilation of muscle and fiber tense, its unfeeling eye flicking onto her in an instant. Its blank and deadly stare would've frozen any sane person in their tracks. It should've a least made her hesitate a little. Guess it proved that she was far from sane.

Her body ached by the time she came within striking range, the Nomu unable to raise its defenses in the short time it took her to clear the space between them, leaving her with a clear shot at any part of its body.

She chose a spot right below its eye, where its teeth and brain-flesh met. If its teeth didn't break, it was in for one hell of a headache, she would make sure of that. **"SMASH!"** Her vocal-cords burned, her fist tearing through the air and carrying a current of Mach-Speed winds behind it. Her whole being was poured into her fist, red-veins finding themselves present on her arm as she swung for his face.

It all evaporated the second contact was established. All her momentum, power, disappeared, the only remnants of her punch being super-powered were the gusts that blew over her target. The creature had managed to absorb the entirety of the impact, including the damage she had expected to be inflicted on her hand. Even the white glove on her fist remained intact.

It had managed to contain All-Might's power with ease.

And she was left within arms reach of it, completely powerless. Its stare seemed to taunt her. Like it knew she couldn't do anything.

She couldn't even retract her fist before its open hand curled up in a fist of its own, ready to deliver a life-ending blow to any part of her body. She watched its muscles contract as it moved to pull its fist back, her pupils shrinking in fear as she started to fall backward.

Only to hear the most terrifying, powerful yell that managed to freeze the bird-creatures own body, impossibly scaring an emotionless monster.

A simple glance at its source managed to wipe away her fright, filling her with relief as she fell on her hands.

"I-I-Ichigo!"

Looks like she was having those grandkids after all.

* * *

(-)

* * *

Thinking logically was almost impossible.

Scratch that.

It was impossible. He could barely manage to differentiate his enemy from his friends. His vision was tinted in blues and greys, all the while looking like it was affected by heat distortion. Unbelievable spirit energy pulsed through him, contained by the white casing that hardened around his body like a second skin.

And the second his body was operating at a usable capacity, his clawed feet sprung to the ground without a second's attention, focused on the one comprehensive thought raging through his mind.

'Something needed to die.'

And in a matter of moments, his full attention was placed on the creature in front of him. The Nomu.

His grip on Zangetsu tightened Shunpo-ed next to the being. Or at least, he tried to Shunpo, only it felt different. Faster, more controlled, efficient. No matter what he used, he ended up next to his target, his midnight blade cleaving through Nomu's hand and allowing a desperate breath to escape his mother's lips.

The Nomu recoiled in pain, free-hand clasping the end of the stump as thick, horribly discolored blood oozed out the open wound without resistance. Its teeth started to grind as it attempted to regrow the lost appendage, regenerated thew starting to flick out of the clean-cut.

Only for Ichigo's bright-white palm to shove into the raw flesh, crushing the fresh tissue. Only a moment later, a bright red light burst through the small openings left between the wound and his hand, evaporating into smoke after another.

Its eyes met the partially masked face of its enemy, black sclera melded into deadly yellow irises in an endangering stare. And, his mouth, tilted in a murderously lopsided smile.

He had just cauterized the wound.

He had just disabled one of its hands.

Completely.

He shifted his grip from the front of the harmed limb to what was left of the elbow, elongated nails digging into the rough flesh without a thought, blood staining his white 'skin'. Its eyes dilated as his leg shifted behind him, arm pulling the mutilated giant over his head.

A small crater surrounded them as its one-ton body embedded in the ground, crashing through meters of cement and dirt before coming to a stop.

He was almost surprised when it got up without hesitating as if it couldn't feel pain or any type of strain on its body. His brain couldn't process the surprising emotion, only working to adapt to the change.

It didn't matter what he did to it. The only thing that would stop it was death.

His grin marred further.

.

His brain barely processed the incessant babbling of the hand-wearing man-child, registering as nothing but childish complaints and cutting off the further evaluation of his unnecessary talk.

He dodged a small flurry of punches aimed at his chest, pushing the final punch to the side and using the momentum to give him access to the left side of its body.

It wasn't able to turn its head before its uninjured arm was severed from its torso.

It didn't even have a chance to bleed before the same palm as before fell onto its injury, an identical light blinding its left eye as its flesh was burned closed. This time, he had crippled half of its fighting capabilities with a single move.

And it knew. It just didn't care.

It wanted to kill him...

No…

It needed to kill him. That's why instead of retreating, it attacked him again, punching at him with its handless arm. Its movements had become unrefined, just desperate attempts to try and his him with everything it had. It used its arm as more of a flail than an arm.

But when his sword cut its legs off from the knees down, all of it halted. Its wild movements stopped. The pure bloodlust towards him gone. Its stare even became blank, head tilted to the side as it laid lifelessly on the ground.

Ichigo, in his primal, inhuman state, kicked its head with his clawed foot, a little disappointed in the anticlimactic end. For a moment, he studied its face, its body, watching for an ounce of movement, even when ordered by the lanky man in charge. It did nothing, almost as if it accepted death.

His smile dropped completely, flipping his sword in his hand so it pointed towards the ground, right above the creatures head.

It pierced its brain a second later, causing a last, final spaz of its body and muscle, before falling limp for the last time in its life.

It was dead.

He had killed it, the monster ended with his own hands. By the unknown power flowing through him.

His body fell dormant as he listened to the rambling of the leader, the ghastly henchmen, who's tuxedo was covered in cuts and burns, providing what he thought to be common-sense advice to his ill-minded leader.

He heard the doors he and his classmates had come through burst open, the iconically deep voice of All-Might echoing in his ears. Curses were rattled off in the hundreds by the villain once more, a curse going out to him and the Symbol of Peace, their eyes finally meeting his still ones.

The ceramic on his face finally crumbled along with the rest of his 'armor,' leaving him standing on his extremely tired and weak legs, as his eyes stared down with the villains.

"I am going to end you, you filthy bastard!"

And the portal closed.

He had won.

And now, he needed sleep.


	10. Chapter 9: Stalled Only By Temperament

"He's in here?" The voice reminded him of his fathers, if not a little younger. Like his own, just a touch of dialect and smoothness to it.

"Zuku! Please don't do this!" Ichigo registered the voice as Izumi's, her panic ripping his attention off the book in his hands. Making him put down Shakespeare like that wasn't something most could do, but Izumi wasn't most.

Ichigo stood up as the knob shook, someone's hand gripping its silver handle firmly. "You're acting like I do this a lot."

"But you've done this to every guy I've made friends with!" Ichigo heard Izumi pout, the door opening.

The man spoke again. "Well, you know I have to be sure." He commented, before his eyes met with Ichigo's.

He had short, curly hair that stood out due to its deep green color, something he could sympathize with. He met Ichigo's eye level almost perfectly, their heights almost identical if not for the boots giving him an extra inch and a half on the orange-haired Hero. Very, very uncommon to see people who could match his height and have an odd hair color. Not to mention, their stature was fairly similar, the muscle that was twined across Ichigo's body only a tad thicker and more defined. And the final thing that made Ichigo pin him as a relative to his resident Midoriya, was the bright green eyes burning with protective energy.

It took a little more than a firm stare to phase his demeanor. "You're Ichigo Kurosaki? The guy my sister won't stop texting me about?"

Izumi hid her face behind the strangers shoulders, though he could envision her blushing without too much difficulty. "Is there going to be a problem if I am?" Ichigo prodded, his brow furrowed in a testing scowl. Not the greatest way to de-escalate a situation, but he hadn't exactly created the thick tension either.

"Well, I'm going to assume that you are, which means…" He approached confidently, though there was nothing that would give away any concealed rage. "I owe you a thank you."

Ichigo's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Oh?"

The greenete stuck out his hand. "Yeah, I was told that you saved my little sister. The camera footage backs it up too." Ichigo shook the hand, a gentle smile growing on the man's features. "Izuku Midoriya. I'm the older brother of Izumi."

The corners of Ichigo's mouth straightened out, but didn't match the smile of the elder Midoriya. "Ichigo Kurosaki, Izumi's classmate."

They dropped their hands. "So, yeah. Thanks for saving this dork. She probably wouldn't be here if you hadn't stepped in when you had."

Once more, his lips never raised past their neutral state. "No need for thanks. It's only right to protect those you care about."

Izuku's smile faded. "It felt necessary. You put your life at risk to save her." It wasn't hard to miss his suspicion, his eyes quirking unnaturally. "Unless, you were never really at risk, and did that just to give yourself a little reputation in this school filled with gorgeous women. But that's purely hypothetical, so I doubt that's what happened."

Ichigo's features sharpened. "If you _dare_ imply that I helped set up an attack that resulted in my _mother _having her wind-pipe crushed." Izumu could feel the disdain oozing from his words, even though she couldn't see his face from behind her brothers back. "I don't think you and I will get along very well."

There was a moment when no one really knew what was going to happen, the atmosphere chokingly thick to the One-For-All user as the two men stared each other down. Ichigo's eyes were practically taunting Izuku into trying something, an unacknowledged black leaking into his white sclera.

Then, Izuku laughed. Not a meager chuckle, or a slight heave of the chest. A full-blown laughing fit, that managed to confuse both of the other people in the room. "Oh god! I don't think I've ever gotten a reaction like that!" Izuku cheered, wiping a tear from his eye. "Most guys go into stuttering fits, barely able to make a coherent sentence, let alone make a threat!" He continued, twisting his head as far as it could go to look down at his sister the best he could. "I like this guy, Izumi! You should've introduced me earlier."

Ichigo could only look dumbfounded, slightly relieved that he had avoided fighting Izumi's brother. As much as Ichigo knew he should've been pissed for such a stupid stunt, one that made a total of zero sense in any world, he understood where the Izumi look-alike was coming from. Hey, he had sisters too, and he had more than his fair share of confrontations, so it wasn't the worst thing in his eyes. Even if the method was idiotic beyond reason. "Zuzu… I knew you'd do something like that…" Izumi moaned in defeat.

Ichigo sighed, unfurling his fists to drag his fingers through his hair. Ew, he needed to shower after they left with how sweaty and oily it was. "So, was there an actual reason you guys came here? Though, it's nice to see that you're okay, Izumi."

Izuku nodded as the end of his fit subsided. "Yeah. Zumi came here when she heard that they were allowing you visitors, I just followed her. I was a little suspicious when she told me you were the only guy in her class, but it seems like you have more morals than most guys."

Ichigo shrugged. "Just doing what I think most people should do. Probably aren't ready to be a hero if you can't keep your hormones in check."

Izuku shook his head in agreement. "I can't help but agree there. There are some guys at Shiketsu that probably should work on that."

For the first time since he had woken up, Ichigo smirked. "Oh? Haven't pulled that stunt on them yet, have you?"

Izuku replied with his own grin. "Nope. Then again, they haven't met Zumi yet. Sometimes I think the dork can't say no to anyone!"

"Izu…!" She whined, softly hitting her brothers back.

Ichigo's lips drifted a little higher. "So, you're trying to be a hero too? Seems to be a common theme."

"Yeah, kinda been our thing since we first heard of All-Might." Izuku explained. "They didn't allow males to UA last year, so I just applied to Shiketsu. Tried to convince her to do the same, but she was dead-set on applying here. And, to my surprise, the dork makes it into the top class! It was kinda hard to believe that my little sister had gained a quirk during the test, and it was even harder to let her out of my sight. Glad to know that there's someone here to look out for her though."

"Yeah, I know the feeling. Kinda hard to move into the dorms with my little sisters just starting the fourth grade."

Izuku raised his eyebrows. "Ah. You're a big brother as well. That makes you all the more reliable." He said, checking his watch. "Well, my lunch ends in about 5 minutes, so I need to run! Pray I'm not late, otherwise my teacher will kick my ass!" He joked, turning and giving his sister a hug. "I'll visit again whenever I get the chance! Nice to meet you, Ichigo!" Izuku waved as he ran out the door, not even leaving him any time to respond.

Not that he really would've, with that kind of exit. "Huh." He turned his eyes to Izumi, who was embarrassed in a way that told him that Izuku did stuff like that often. "So, you guys seem close." Ichigo mused, the smirk leaving his face.

"Yeah, he was the only one who believed in me when I was quirkless." She said thoughtfully. "It helped me a lot, to get me where I am now."

"I see. He seems like a nice guy." He commented offhandedly.

Ichigo almost wished that he hadn't left, or Izumi had been a little more talkative. He didn't have Shakespeare as a distraction at the moment. His mind needed something to keep it's mind off of…that. "S-So, how's the recovery process going?"

Ah. Thank god for light talk. "Could be better." Ichigo groaned as he lifted up the right side of his shirt, the bruised shoulder barely able to raise his arm high enough to retract the cotton from his side. "I guess this had healed too much before Chiyo got to it, so it left this really big scar." He informed indifferently, tracing around the scar tissue. It made Izumi's face scrunch up in worry, the diameter of the puncture wound well over the 5-inch mark. "Same with most of the others. And while all the real damage is gone, the muscles in my right shoulder still need to realign themselves."

His eyes glazed over her. "Thanks for coming in when you did. I'm not sure I would've made it to Dry-Eyes in time."

Izumi mustered up a smile. "I don't think I'd be much of a hero if I let someone die like that without even trying to save them."

"Yeah…" Ichigo stared down at his hands. He couldn't even recognize them as his own when he first saw them, white, clawed, and caked in blood. Only for them to change back when he blinked again. "Not much of a hero…"

...

Sounded about right.

"A-Anyway!" Izumi clapped her hands together. "I promised Toyo, Yui and Ochako I wouldn't be long. They all thought you probably wanted to wait a bit before they visited you. Most of the class will probably visit tomorrow, just cause they want to make sure you're doing okay. Even Kacchan was worried, even if she didn't really show it like everyone else did." She smiled somberly. "She even made chocolate for you. It kinda makes me wish I could do something to help."

Ichigo shrugged. "Keeping me company is more than enough help. Gets kinda boring reading Shakespeare for 2 days straight, with nothing else to do." He offered, tilting his head towards the small stack of books. "If you need to go though, feel free. I won't bore you with this old English stuff."

His eyes remained on her for a moment before he picked up his book again, assuming she would join their classmates in whatever they had planned on doing.

Ichigo was a little surprised when she sat down next to him, her weight sinking next to him. "I-I actually wanted to read Shakespeare, but I'm not very good at reading English."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Do you want me to read it to you? In Japanese, anyway."

Izumi nodded. "I would like that, if it's not any trouble."

"Not at all. I'm just warning you, I'm not going to be doing any voice acting."

Izumi giggled.

It almost made him wish he made jokes more often, with just how much he loved the sound. "That's fine. I'm surprised you're willing to read it to me anyways."

Ichigo nodded. "Right. With that out of the way, I guess I should introduce the characters."

* * *

***SLAM***

"_What the fuck do you mean, 'He's being accused of man-slaughter?' He didn't do shit outside of his rights."_

Tsukauchi almost recoiled out of the sheer rage the usually stoic hero filled her words with. He had to swallow nervously before he could speak. "Y-You could be right, but the footage given to us shows that the lethal blow Ichigo Kurosaki delivered was unnecessary. The victim, Kaido Arikasa, was incapacitated when your son ended his life." He felt the hair on his neck start to prick. "And we can't defend him like we would a Pro-Hero. He has no license, and therefore must be tried like a normal citizen. A judge will have to decide whether or not the action could be claimed as self-defense."

Tsukauchi heard the metal under her grip creak. "You could argue that the _damn thing _was already dead."

He shook his head hesitantly. "Our morgue determined that he was alive upon reaching the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. Unbelievably high amounts of Oxytocin were discovered across his body, indicating incredible pain was consistent across the body. Brain-death stops the entry of Oxytocin into the body, scratching that argument out."

Shiho's stare burned through him, making him feel like he needed to puke with the way his mind was screaming at him. Like, he was the one being interrogated, and by someone who would execute him without so much as a thought. Then, it all fell, as she slumped back into her chair. "So, what the fuck can we do?"

Tsukauchi sighed. "Not much. You can hope that a jury will look at the footage and decide his actions were necessary." His throat, for how much saliva was pooling in his mouth, felt dry as a desert. "What I'm really hoping for, is a testimony from one of the villains saying you gave Kurosaki permission to act as a Pro Hero. The department finds your testimony as biased, due to your relation to him."

Trepidation filled his gaze as she raised her hand, only to watch her comb it through her hair. "If they don't give you one?"

"I'm afraid that Ichigo's career as a hero would be put to a permanent halt, no matter the outcome of the case of Arikasa."

An hour later, he regretted bringing it up at all.

* * *

…

…

…

_You._

He turned around, yet what he saw failed to change. Nothing but an empty black void surrounded his body. It seemed to stare him down, whittling his confidence and putting his body in panic mode.

Yet there was nothing.

He couldn't see a thing, the emptiness seemingly eerie in a nonsensical way.

_Why did you kill me?_

The voice echoed in his head, louder than it had any right to be, his hands flying to his head and clutching his ears closed. It didn't help in the slightest, an equally loud ring tearing through his mind. What the fuck was going on with him?

_You didn't know who I was. What gave you the right to end my life!?_

His cheek was crushed by an unknown force, the 'punch' sending him staggering backwards, the inside of his cheek bleeding against his red-stained teeth. Still, the noise continued to bellow in his eardrums, aching more than any blow could.

_I had a family! _

A kick to his stomach made his body hurl over.

_Two little girls without a father!_

Something hit his jaw, forcing his eyes to meet the face of his attacker.

The empty dead stare shut him down, instantly recognizing their origin.

_You shall feel the pain I felt! You shall know what I knew!_

The noise flared to its peak, and his eardrums probably would've been pierced if it was real. Then his muscles started to tear themselves apart, or at least, that's what it felt like. As if every fiber in his body was moving in a different direction, just barely weak enough to keep him in one piece as he watched himself be mutilated from the inside, only to regenerate it in a second. Over and over.

Again and again.

And again.

And again.

He didn't even feel the sword cutting off his limbs one by one as more deafening commands were blared in his ear.

He looked up with lifeless eyes as he watched the blade aimed for his head, falling down like it had no care for the pain he was in and only worked to end his life.

No matter how much it hurt, he had wanted to live.

Then it all stopped. Everything stopped as the blade slowed to a stop. The pain quickly dulling along with the noise, leaving his pleading screams as the only thing to be heard. Even those halted quickly, a white hand grabbing the bottom of his jaw and involuntarily made him stare at the eyes that were causing him the pain, though they were unlike the previous eyes.

They were yellow, blending into the black surroundings.

_No one can hear you, you useless creature. _

_You aren't worth hearing._

And it all resumed in an instant.

And when the sword finally pierced his skulless brain…

He woke up.

Ichigo was dripping in a cold sweat, his breaths short as the panic had yet to leave him, sitting upright as he tried to process what he was seeing. Light blue curtains that let trace amounts of moonlight in, white walls that had barely any decor, and a hospital bed he really didn't need to be in. He was in Chiyo's room.

In his relief, he muttered. "It was only a dream. A stupid ass dream." He let his breath stabilize, sighing as he tried to wipe the sweat off his face using his hand, only to find it cuffed to the metal frame of the bed. Ichigo growled. "The fuck is this for." He pulled on it a few times, to see if it had any give, finding it didn't have much as the door to the room opened.

"Oh. You're awake I see." The man said, dressed in a standard Detective's uniform.

"Don't act like you came in the second I woke up by coincidence." Ichigo said dryly. "The camera on the desk isn't very hidden."

The man, who didn't seem to have anything extraordinary about him, set his beige hat on his lap as he sat down. "I apologize for the circumstances in which we were able to meet. I would've liked to have introduce myself under better circumstances."

Ichigo snorted. "Yeah, like not being handcuffed to the bed."

The detective smiled sadly. "Yes, that would be nice, but right now you are under the surveillance and custody of the Musutafu Police Department."

"What the hell for?" He asked, although part of him already knew.

The detective sighed, pulling a file out of his coat. "An anonymous tip gave us footage of the USJ and, in turn, the death of Kaido Arikasa, or as you know him, the Nomu. The department concluded that your actions while the victim was incapacitated could be seen as unneeded, even as self-defence, and will have to be ruled over by a judge on weather or not it can be considered manslaughter."

His disdained cough was more than enough to tell Naomasa his opinion. "I know I killed the guy. I've thought about it this entire time that I've been cooped up in this fucking room. But if the actions I took were excessive, while my _friends _and _family _were on the line, then I guess I'm a goddamn criminal, cause I would do way more than that to make sure they were safe." The detective looked at him with an unreadable stare. "What's the bare minimum I would be faced with, just to get a measure of how fucked I am."

He sighed. "There are two scenario's that will happen even before a verdict is decided. One, we get an eyewitness from a criminal stating that you were given the go ahead act as a Pro Hero by the Pro Hero, Erasurehead. When you go to trial and if you are claimed innocent, you should be fine. The second is where we lack said eyewitness, and go onto trial without it. Even if claimed as innocent, you acted against the law without a doubt, and would be removed from any hero program you are currently in or plan to enter in the future."

Ichigo snarled. "So my future is riding on the words of a bunch of dirtbags who probably 75 percent of have a concussion, with the other 25 percent have amnesia? And I can bet that fucking Erasurehead told you she did give me permission. Are you fucking with me right now?"

The detective shook his head sadly. "It's not the precinct's fault. If you have a problem, take it up with the law."

He laughed mockingly. "The law, he says." As he looked up in disbelief. "If hero's have had to act under these bullshit laws, I don't think I really want to be a hero."

For the first time since he entered the room, the detective looked surprised. "Ichigo Kurosaki, I am Detective Naomasa, and my quirk allows me to tell whether a statement is true or false." Ichigo looked at him with bemusement. "It just indicated that what you said is the truth."

"Yeah? So fucking what? Why don't you use that on Shiho and ask her if she gave me permission?"

"I can't do that. No matter what, she sustained head trauma that made her memory unclear, and her words would be biased." The detective explained. "But that doesn't change that your previous statement was delivered as true."

"Yeah." Ichigo glared at the man. "I'd already expected this. Thought it over a little. The only reason I wanted to be a hero was so I could protect those important to me. If these shitty laws stop me from doing that, then why the hell should I want to be a Pro Hero. I could do it better acting outside of the law." The words came out of his mouth without thinking, but then he got time to ponder it. "Wait. I really could do it better outside of the law.

The detective stood up. "You're going down a dangerous road, Ichigo. Vigilantism is seen on an equal level as Villainy in Japan."

His warding failed. "Even more reason to do it then. Goes to show that the laws need to be changed even more if they see people saving others as a bad thing, just because they don't have a license."

"Kurosaki, that is enough. What you've said here isn't helping your case in anyway." Naomasa ordered. Ichigo just ignored him, muttering under his breath about something Naomasa couldn't understand.

He could only watch in uncertainty as Ichigo made his decision. "Tell UA I've left their program. I'll save people without these shitty restrictions."

Naomasa's hand slowly moved towards his weapon. "Ichigo Kurosaki! Say one more word and I will have you taken to the jail!"

In a feat of impossibility, Ichigo broke the quirk-suppressing cuffs tying him to the bed. "We both know that's not going to happen."

The last thing Naomasa saw before he was knocked out, was a pair of golden-yellow eyes surrounded by black sclera, and the word truth in the top right of his vision.

"**God, why is your voice so annoying to keep up?"** He complained, rubbing his throat.** "Oh well, I guess I did the hard part for you."**

"**Ichigo. Welcome to the world of the vigilante. Much more lenient than a hero's."**

Naomasa's partner wasn't able to reach the room in time before Ichigo jumped out the window, landing on an adjacent roof before dashing off.

"Home-base this is Officer Sansa Tamakawa! I have Ichigo Kurosaki fleeing on foot at UA campus headed east-bound! I have Detective Naomasa unconscious in the medical prefixture, charging him with Assault of an Officer! Keep all lethality to a minimum!"

The cat-faced man could only curse.

There was no way to tell where the kid was going.

* * *

The repercussions of a rapidly broken inbalance.

Also, thank you for the reviews. One in particular caught my eye, pointing out I left Jirou out of the Battle Training. It was a mistake by me, thank you for pointing it out. Problem is, I'd have to rewrite about 3 chapters to bring her into the story other than the one mention. I don't mind her character, but I'm way to lazy to do that at the moment.

Who knows though. These next couple of chapters won't concern most of Class 1-A, so I might go ahead and add her in officially, just for later on in the story.

Anyway, thanks for reading.


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